


Seditionis Adamas

by Wierdkid20



Series: Vulgaris Adamas [6]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blue Pearl/ Yellow Pearl, Canon-Typical Violence, Diamond redemption, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld is Horrible, I love canon but I'm not changing this story for anything, Minor Injuries, Pearl Solidarity (Steven Universe), So AU guys, White Diamond is a mom, mellowing Yellow, mysterypearl (background for now), taking the concept and running
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-02-20 10:15:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 80
Words: 142,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13144533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wierdkid20/pseuds/Wierdkid20
Summary: Translation:Diamond Rebellion. Domina promised Steven that she would shake up life on Homeworld to keep the other two Diamonds occupied. This isn't what either of them meant.What Domina didn't know  was that there are more players in this game for Homeworld's fate.Friendships will come to light, Betrayals will be enacted and the Gem Empire will be rocked to the core.updates mondays and fridaysEdit 2-7-18: Now featuring a series overview for first time readers of Vulgaris Adamas





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! welcome to Seditionis Adamas, Diamond Rebellion. This is the direct sequel to Domina Alba so you should probably be familiar with what's going in in that and also Rosea Margarita.  
> If you don't want to read all of those then you can check out this quick two page run down of the entire series [ here ](https://docs.google.com/document/d/194mde_Nuxpj4z2Ytebuuz1cWaNtxc7nkDn93iO77Wis/edit?usp=sharing)
> 
> Unlike the other fics I have written so far this on will not be updated daily. I really want to do this fic right so I'll be updating weekly at the least.  
> If you want to read my ramblings about what I'm working on, see art for the series, ask me questions or read a series of snippets about White Diamond and Domina's Father falling in 'love?' then you should check out the series Tumblr at domina-alba.tumblr.com
> 
> I really hope you guys enjoy this fic and I'd love to hear your thoughts. 
> 
> thanks!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 1-24-18: Thanks to br42 of the Connieswap team I now know how to embed pictures. There for I'll start doing that. Probably.
> 
>  

The lower echelons of life on Homeworld were as vibrant as the upper spires. They may not have been as touched by art or culture but they had a certain lightness about them. The further down you went, the further you got away from the managers and Agates, the closer you crept to those just barely hanging on to the fringes of the caste system. And if you straddled the line close enough you could find areas where off colors were perhaps, a little less so.

 

Domina had been making these trips for a few months now, dressed in her plainest clothes, with her hat pulled down over her gem. This part of the former pink district was home to an atmosphere much like what was onboard the outpost stations. 

 

Gems, when left unsupervised found entertaining ways to blow off steam. Which is how Domina found herself in the fighting ring with a larger than standard Rutile. The mixed gem crowd formed a loose circle around the combatants. The Rutile hefted a material battle axe and Domina was using a cutlass that felt a unfamiliar in her hand. No summoned weapons, most people here were obscuring their gems in some way, anything to increase the anonymity of the participants.

 

Domina dodged a swing of the weapon by leaping into the air, a breeze billowing around her and pushing dust back towards the crowd. The Rutile craned her neck back to follow her leap and brought down the ax on the spot where Domina should have been. Domina instead stayed in the air and dived through the air to bury her sword home between the Rutile’s shoulder blades. Or thats what would have happened if the moment she had been within range the Rutiles axe she was smacked out of the ring and into a nearby wall on the other side of the crowd.

 

Said crowd erupted into applause and cheers as Domina lay on her back, waiting for the world to stop spinning. 

 

“Are you alright-t-t-t?” A voice asked. Domina blinked and let her eyes focus in on the shape standing above her. A Carnelian that was built closer to the style of a Lapis than to a proper quartz stared back at her. She was wearing a piece of cloth tied around her waist, probably covering a belly gem. Domina grinned, head still throbbing, her whole right side was numb.

 

“Yeah,I’ve had worse.” She said. The Carnelian helped her to her feet.

 

“Well nice job lasting that long, no one's been able to beat that Rutile in decades. What are you some kind of Apatite?”

 

“Something like that.” Domina leaned against the wall and checked to make sure nothing was broken. The Carnelian opened her mouth to respond when she was cut off from whirring over head. Scout drones, shortly followed by a squad of Jaspers.

 

“This Gathering in unsanctioned and harboring criminals of the Diamond Authority, Nobody move!” One of them called out breaking the sudden tension that had fallen over the crowd. Gems panicked, fleeing in every direction. The Jaspers and Drones pursued them, barely concealed glee over the formers faces. Domina saw the Carnelian bolt towards the tunnels into the deeper caverns on homeworld only to be cornered by a Jasper holding a spiked mace. 

 

“Stop!” Domina shouted, acting on impulse, she rose up above the crowd, no one paid her any attention. She could hear screaming, the sounds of gems braking. She couldn’t let this continue. White Diamond yanked off her hat, her gem began to glow. “I said STOP!” She shouted, sending out a gale of wind. 

 

And then everything did. And Domina was left in a familiar blackness swarming with thousands of images. There was a hot tension behind her gem and Domina held on to that to make the moment last. She began to move, finding the memories of the scene that the Jaspers held and ripping them apart. The last of them dissolved in her fingers and Domina finally let herself relax, the tension dissipating from her forehead. 

 

Around her the world lightened and Dozens of gems clattered to the ground. 

 

The drones still whizzed over head but they were quickly dispatched by a few well placed blasts of air. Domina sighed with relief and drifted to the ground slowly, turning to face the rest of the gems who had taken cover.

 

“That should buy you some time to get out of-” She started to say. She noticed their horrified faces. She heard the murmurs

 

“White Diamond-”

 

“Why does she look like that-”

 

“White diamond” 

 

“Why is she here-”

 

“White diamond"

 

“Was this a trap-”

 

“White diamond”

 

“We need to get out of here.”

 

Domina bit her lip and collected her hat, briefly making eye contact with the Carnelian she had been talking with earlier. The gem flinched away from her and looked possibly more scared than she had been of the attack earlier. Domina schooled her features blank and stared at the room in general.

 

“I suggest you all get out of here before they reform.” She said, her voice boomed and echoed as if she was shouting into an empty room. And then less than half a minute later she was as the gems all ran. Domina sighed and tugged her hat back on, not caring for how her hair was going to look later. She caught a glimpse of one of the Jaspers gems and flinched when she saw how it had slightly elongated. 

 

It was something that was rarely commented upon by polite gems, something Domina had never paid much attention too. Now though, the warping, what most gems saw as simply an indicator that a gem had been apart of White Diamonds Court, all it was was yet another sign of her mother's misdeeds. Domina saw it everywhere now, on 9ZQ, on Blue Diamond, and of course on Pearl. And now here were a dozen Jaspers, all with missing memories, and misshapen gems. Domina turned towards the nearest warp pad, side still hurting, a headache growing, and headed towards home.


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another thing I'm excited about in this fic is I'm not just sticking to Domina's POV, though that still will be the default one. Thanks to everyone for the kudos and comments so far!
> 
> See you next week

Meetings of the rebellion usually just consisted of Pink Pearl and Jet Pearl, they were often unscheduled, but more frequent now that Pearl was on Homeworld.

 

Occasionally others would join in, a timid pearl belonging to one of Blue Diamonds Pyropes, a cluster of Peridot's who's cut had fallen into disfavor with Yellow Diamond, or an undercooked feldspar that's base form was too big to fit into a standard cockpit. 

 

This meeting had been Jet, Pink and Blue Diamond's Pearl who also had recently found herself on homeworld more often than usual. 

 

“Provided the operation is a success we should be adding 20 gems to our ranks within the next decade” Jet said reading off a report she had gotten from the rebellions main base. 

 

“Well that certainly is something.” Blue said resting her head on her hands. “Though we can't be sure that all that emerge will join us” 

 

“But if even five do...” Pink Pearl said. Blue nodded and Jet jotted down a few comments to send back. 

 

“Anything else? I will need to be getting back shortly” Jet said looking between the two of them. Pink Pearl shook her head, she also should get back, Domina may not have returned from...whatever it was she was doing today, but she would be soon and the less questions she asked about Pearls whereabouts the better.

 

“Mauve has requested to speak with you Pink.” Blue said sliding off the boulder she had been sitting on.

 

“Me? Why?” Pink asked. Blue Pearl shrugged and even Jet looked puzzled.

 

“She didn’t say. I don’t know where she is these days though.”

 

“Caverns in the Yellow District.” Jet said scribbling a map on a data pad and handing it to her. Blue nodded.

 

“There you go.” She said straightening her skirt and shaking her hair back into position. The three said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. 

 

After a brief check from the flag ships door access to insure that Domina hadn’t returned home, Pink Pearl quickly hurried through side streets and narrow tunnels into the Yellow district. She followed the map to Mauves hideout and found it very similar to the one she had visited thousands of years ago in the old Pink District. 

 

The entrance was narrow, only enterable by a pearl or smaller gem, and it opened to almost a tubular space, the walls of which were filled with carvings that made you think that if you looked at them long enough you might see something. Mauve floated down from the ceiling.

 

“The possibilities and stories within this area have reached their zenith,” Mauve said, her cloak gave no indication of a body beneath until a hand with a purple pearl on it’s back emerged from it to deposit a makeshift chisel on a boulder that seemed to act as a table. “How is the new Diamond?” Pink Pearl did her best to hide how unnerved the Fusions entrance had made her, she forced a smile.

 

“She is doing fine, Blue Diamonds Pearl said you needed to speak with me.” Pearl said. Mauve nodded.

 

“I did, I told you millenia ago that I may one day ask something of you.”

 

“And that day is now?” Pink asked Mauve smiled.

 

“It is, I hope that you would be able to secure me passage to earth, I understand that the planet is not as destroyed as the populace previously thought,”

 

“That is true,” Pearl said, mind already racing trying to figure out how in stars name she was going to get a fusion to Earth with the limited amount of rebellion members that were still on homeworld. Mauve held up her hand as if to interrupt her thoughts.

 

“As I said before you are not obligated, if I do not go to earth I will join the rest on the station.” She said “The others don’t know but I do tire this rebellion. All three beings within me wish to be more than simply a means to an end.” Pink Pearl looked at the fusion then stared up around the carvings above them and nodded.

 

“I’ll get you to earth, give me a few days to ask around.” she said. Mauve smiled, a real genuine smile.

 

“Thank you.” 

 

She managed to get to the flagship minutes before Domina entered through the warp pad that had been placed in where the storage rooms had once been. Where before there had been a collection of 6 moderately sized rooms, there was now a functional apartment, with a bedroom for Domina, bathroom and mostly functional kitchen. Pearl even had a room to herself, not that she used it for much. Pearl was sitting on the couch folding laundry, trying to look like she had been there for most of the day. Domina’s hair was disheveled and Pearl could see a black hat clutched in her right hand. The diamond, to put it mildly, looked horrible. She was hunched over on one side and had a bruise on the opposite side of her face.

 

“Domina what happened!” Pearl got to her feet. The girl backed up and smiled awkwardly.

 

“Oh nothing, just.. Lost concentration for a second and ended up crashing into a building.” She said,  a blatant lie. “Anything interesting happen here?” Domina asked quickly

 

“No my diamond.” Pearl said just as quickly. There was an uneasy tension between them Domina had to know that Pearl knew she was lying. Did Domina get the sense that Pearl was to? What would she think if she knew what Pearl was doing? What was Domina doing that she felt that Pearl wouldn’t approve of? 

 

“Ok well I’m going to.. turn in for the night, Don’t worry about me, I’m fine! “She said with another grin that seemed more forced than anything.

 

“If you say so...Domina.”


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year everyone!  
> So this chapter was... interesting to write and part of it was the reason that I wanted to go slower with this story. Thank you to EVERYONE who has subscribed, read, commented, favorited and kudo'd (sp?) this fic and all the other fics in the series. As always you can come talk to me on domina-alba.tumblr.com where you can see some cool art I commisioned Nacrepearl for and you can ask me questions! (I got my first ask the other day and was so so excited.)
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter! See you next time.

“No, Absolutely not” 

 

“Yellow, Think this through.”

 

“I don’t need to White!” Yellow diamond said “This is unthinkable”

 

“It’s wasteful!” Domina said. The four of them were in Yellows private chambers, not unlike the many times during Domina’s youth when it had been just the four of them. Yellow sat in her chair while Domina easily floated in front of her. The two Pearls stood by the door, seemingly attentive but Domina was sure they were talking among themselves. “We can’t just keep shattering gems over such slight offenses”

 

“Heterogeneous fusion is not a ‘slight’ offense White,” Yellow stood to pace, Domina backed up and saw the pearls move closer to the wall. “You don’t understand the possible repercussions it could carry. How the rebels used it during the war.”  She turned on her heel having reached the edge of the room and spun back around to face Domina. “The very act completely shreds the very fabric that the empire relies on.  A common Ruby can degrade a Sapphire and form something akin to a Garnet Commander! A quartz and a-” Yellow diamond stopped herself and shook her head. “We have more important things to worry about, patrols have been reporting finding goods not typically available outside the fleet, ones that have been taken out of general circulation.” Domina frowned out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw the pearls stop talking.

 

“That’s odd. I’ll look into it.” She said pulling up a todo list on her visor and making a note of it. “After I bring this up to Blue.”

 

“Do not bring it up to Blue.” Yellow said. “She will not respond to this as well as I did.” Domina snorted and rolled her eyes.

 

“Yes because you reacted so well.” 

 

“At least I didn’t force tears out of your eyes.” Yellow Diamond said sitting back down in her chair. Domina frowned and nodded in reluctant agreement. 

 

“I’ll still enact it within my own planets and districts.” Domina said as if that would change her mind. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes.

 

“Let me know when you need additional forces to quell uprisings.” She muttered summoning an additional set of screens. “An additional scouting mission needs to be sent to earth.” 

 

“We need to leave the Earth alone.” Domina said pursing her lips. She had promised Steven when she left earth that she would keep the authority occupied. So far she had been able to keep her promise though she wasn't making a whole lot of headway on any changes to homeworld. 

 

Every effort Domina had made to change to the empire at large had been blocked by either or both of the other diamonds, it was all very frustrating.

 

“We can’t just leave it alone, it still could pose a threat!”

 

“How? It was practically decimated,”

 

“I don’t know, you would be the better one to ask about that, wouldn’t you” Yellow Diamond asked leaning towards her. 

 

Domina wavered slightly in the air, put on her emotionless mask as some sort of thin defense against Yellow Diamonds knowing look. Domina was never sure exactly how much she knew though. 

 

All she knew was that she had to protect Steven and the others, she felt a faint warmth from her gem as it began to glow, then she panicked and yanked it away. 

 

The change was so abrupt that she felt her grip on the surrounding winds falter and she plummeted twenty feet. She hadn’t fallen from distraction in decades but the muscle memory that went into keeping her safe when she fell was still in practice. Pearl was by her side in an instant and helped her to her feet. Domina thanked her red faced and hopped back into the air. 

 

Yellow Diamond had quickly hid her startled look. Now that she was aware of it Domina noticed exactly how much of her emotions Yellow held back. Was she trying to imitate Domina’s mother, was she simply trying to make up for Blue’s lack of control? 

 

Domina calmed herself before speaking again.

 

“We will leave the earth alone.” She said firmly. Yellow diamond looked disgruntled but didn’t bring the subject up again. 

****

 

It was exhausting watching Domina try to change things on Homeworld. Pearl had seen the girl try to change things in the empire before but it never lasted and she never went at it with such fervor has she did now. Pink Diamond never had really had any court cases to witness or judge on, White Diamond prefered not to deal directly with Homeworlds law.

 

Therefore, the cases they visited these last few months had actually been both her and Domina’s first times in the courtrooms. It was painfully obvious that this had disturbed the Zircons and Hafnons in White Diamonds court. 

It probably also didn’t help that Domina didn’t take her place in a throne like one of the other diamonds might. Instead she sat in the shadows invisible to all but those who might be looking for her.

 

Now that Pearl thought about it, that might be closer to what White Diamond would have done. 

 

They were sitting unobserved in the district court as the presiding Hafnon, a regal looking mottled yellow and green gem, judged the day to day cases, demotions, property disputes, fines, minor crimes. Domina took extensive notes and Pearl made sure that any relevant information was getting sent to Jet. She was deep into a report on a newly disgraced Quartz that was to be demoted and transferred to the outer colonies when she heard the Hafnons Pearl announce the next case.

 

“Charged with Class 10 offense Heterogeneous Fusion, Pink Sapphire Facet 1F3-7GH and Pearl formerly belonging to a Sodalite that was destroyed during the failed earth rebellion.” The Pearl said. Pink Pearl slowly raised her head as the words processed. 

 

Fusion, Sapphire, Pearl. 

 

She stared at the two gems at the front of the court now. A trio of Milky Quartz guards stood between them. The sapphire, wore a pale pink dress with her gem sitting on her collarbone like a clasp. She was as inscrutable as most sapphires were but Pink Pearl could see one hand tightening into a fist.The Pearl had her hair in a short bob, like Blue Pearl and Jets, but her eyes were un obscured and frightened. She wore the typical leotard and a translucent shawl around her shoulders. She held her hands infront of her, one of them had her pale blue pearl set into the back of it. She had perhaps been crying before they brought them in. 

 

Mauve was supposed to go tomorrow. Everything was set, Jet hadn’t agreed but she had reluctantly called in one of they’re last favors on homeworld to get the fusion an old but sturdy Roaming Eye.

 

“The defendant was captured in the newly established portion of White Diamond’s district fused as a single entity, when questioned seperately neither party claimed any knowledge of gems that assisted in their avoidance of the proper authorities.” A White Zircon rattled off.

 

Mauve was supposed to have been safe, with plenty of wall space to carve. She was supposed to head to earth the Crystal Gems already knew to expect her.

 

“Very well standard sentencing applies unless of course the defense has anything to say on their behalf.”

 

Mauve was supposed to go to earth to be done with hiding and rebellion but.. Mauve was not here.

 

“No your honor.” The Defending Zircon said.

 

“Very well then, the sentence stands shattering will take place-”

 

“Excuse me Hafnon.” Domina said shocking Pearl out of her horror. The diamond had rose from her chair and straightened her cape so it draped around her dramatically. “May I adjust the sentence?” She asked politely as if the Hafnon would have the gall to refuse her.

 

“Yes of course my Diamond.” The Hafnon said saluting. The rest of the Court turned towards the Diamond in surprise at her sudden reveal. But the defendants, Mauve’s components focused their gaze on Pink Pearl who stood demurely by her diamonds side, staring straight ahead to avoid their eyes. 

 

Domina did not walk to the center of the room so much as float, with soft winds blowing about her.

 

“The empire is always in a short supply of Sapphires especially in the outer colonies, and I’m positive we can find a place somewhere for a Pearl.” She said simply addressing the two gems. She then turned to the Hafnon judge.

 

“Have this incident hidden from their public records.” She said, a slightly smile flitting across her face. Pearl could see the confusion spread through the gems in the room. The Sapphire and Pearl looked at each other with an expression caught between hope and fear.

 

“Yes My diamond.” The Hafnon said her Pearl marked down notes.

 

“And then have them transferred to the outer planets, separately.” Domina said. “Find someone who deserves a Pearl, a Quartz or something.” then she grinned, a silly little grin Pearl had seen too many times on Domina’s face, when she was joking with the quartzes, with her father, or with Pearl herself. “But definitely not a sapphire.”

 

Pearl didn’t look at Domina as they left the courtroom. She didn’t look at her until they were home and then it was only a glance, one that told her that the screams and cries of Mauve’s components as they were separated, still echoed in her ears too.


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. Are you excited for Stranded? cause I am. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Fun added feature for Ao3 you can hover over a bit a latin text in this chapter and it'll give you the translation. I'm not saying I might use this in the future to add witty commentary but......  
> Anyway! feel free to come talk to me in between on domina-alba.tumblr.com where you can see some cool art and read the ongoing ballad of Vitus and White diamond. I've improved the 'Stories' page so stuff is easier to find. 
> 
> See you next time!

Pink Pearl leaned against a cavern wall while Jet raged. The Black Pearl had been summoning her throwing star weapon and tossing it against the wall repeatedly for several minutes, swearing profusely. Needless to say she hadn't taken the news of Mauve’s separation well. 

 

“And of all things!” Jet said flinging the latest weapon she had pulled from her gem directly into a column, leaving a deep gouge into it. “The one diamond we were sure was safe, that you said was nothing to worry about!” Pink Pearl flinched as Jet turned towards her, gesturing angrily with her throwing star . “How could she do this? It might be worse than shattering I don’t think Mauve’s been separated since the war ended.”

 

“Domina couldn’t have known-”

 

“And if she had would she have acted any different?!” Jet cut her off.

 

“I don’t know.” Pink said straightening herself “But she doesn’t, she was trying to be merciful you can’t blame her!”

 

“I certainly can, She benefits from this system just as much as the other two does! She wasn’t trying to be merciful she was trying to protect the empires resources!” Another set of gouges appeared in the column. “She’s not any better than the other’s”

 

“You have no idea what you’re talking about!” Pink said walking toward the other Pearl. “She’s doing her best!”

 

“And her best sent two gems to a fate worse than shattering!” Jet said lowly “How can you defend her, after all these years, after every single one her tantrums you’ve had to deal with, after everything you’ve seen the diamonds do, how can you still stand there and defend her? Mauve is gone! Her components are separated and will most likely never see eachother again! And if White Diamond found out about the base tomorrow or that anyone of us was a part of this do you think she would hesitate to have us shattered or worse!”

 

“She wouldn’t! You don’t know her!”

 

“What do you think your exempt because your her precious Pearl? Your nothing, like the rest of us! Just another replaceable cog in the ma-” Before Pink Pearl knew what she was doing she had swung at Jet, aiming for the side of her face opposite the Pearl’s eye gem. Jet staggered back and immediately retaliated with her own punch, knocking Pink to the ground.  Blue Pearl found them like that roughly a minute later, shouting and hitting each other. Pink Pearl was roughly yanked back as Blue Pearl moved between them. 

 

“What in stars name are you two doing!?”

 

“She needs to pick a side!” Jet shouted.

 

“Like shards I do!” Pink spat.

 

“What are you talking about.” Blue said her voice was quiet but carried an authoritive tone. Between the two of them the whole story came out. When it was over Blue sat on a nearby rock and stared at the floor for a long moment in thought. Then she looked at Pink. “Do you know which planet’s her components were sent too?” Pink Pearl shook her head.

 

“The court hasn’t made that decision yet.”

 

“So they’re still on planet?” Jet asked, her anger not quite evaporating but condensing at the very least. Pink nodded.

 

“I believe they’re being held in the White District’s cell block.” she said. Blue frowned and fiddled with the fringes of her hair.

 

“We don’t have the forces to get in there.”

 

“We could if we were stealthy enough.” Jet said. Blue frowned deeper and folded her legs.

 

“Perhaps, even then.” She looked at Pink Pearl as if waiting for her to suggest something. And then Pink did.

 

* * * *

 

Domina’s sleep schedule was still rather irregular but it had gotten much better over the past year. And that enabled far more regular dream meetings with Steven. This one found them in her dream. Domina looked around the spire reading room that she once again found herself in. Steven floated in.

 

“Hey Domina!” He said cheerily “Back at the spire?”

 

“It seems like it.” Domina frowned slightly “My mind must just be stuck on work,” She shook her head. “Any way how are you, did you get the files I sent you?” 

 

“Yeah.” Steven hopped up on one of the tables. “I haven’t read it yet, Peridot sent it to me but reading too much in gem makes my head hurt.”

 

“I feel the same way about English. Tell Connie that the third Spirit Morph book is going to take me a bit longer. I’m only half way through.” Steven nodded

 

“Hows Pink Pearl?” He asked. Domina smiled.

 

“She doing alright, busy like I am, we really need to set up a video chat.”

 

“I asked Peridot about that but she said that Homeworld would probably pick up the transmission and then Garnet said no.” Steven said swinging his feet. Domina frowned. There were difficulties in having a friend that was technically a rebel. 

 

“Right.”  She said.

 

“So what have you been up too?” He asked. Domina shrugged.

 

“Work same as always” She said deliberately avoiding any possible conversation about her latest power. “I’m sure your life is more interesting than mine right now.”

 

“Oh I don’t know about that.” Steven said “Let’s see,” He started counting off on his fingers. “Me and Buck and Jenny and Sour Cream and Sadie are playing in a big show in a couple of months, The wailing stone has been ringing all day and just turned off again before I went to bed, Connie and me have been going on missions as Stevonnie with Garnet, Oh!” He sat up straight. 

 

“Pearl’s got a girlfriend!” He said. Domina blinked. 

 

“A what?” 

 

“A Girlfriend. She’s really cool and rides a motorcycle and knows how to do like everything!” He said. “Her name is-”

 

“Wait, Steven what’s a girlfriend.” Domina interrupted.

 

“Huh?” Steven frowned puzzled. “Oh it’s a girl that you date.” Domina blinked.

 

“You’re going to have to elaborate.”

 

“Well when two people like each other a lot they go on dates, like my mom and dad did, too get to know each other better.”

 

“Oh!” Domina said, a sliver of her father's stories coming back to her. “Adolor. “

 

“What?”

 

“I uh.. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a gem equivalent. But it’s like what you described, from what my father said anyway.” Domina said with a shrug. “So Pearl is.. ‘dating’ a human?”

 

“Yup! Like I said she’s super cool.” He said then proceeded to tell her about one of the crystal gems latest missions to a prewar research station and then about a movie he and Connie had gone to see. 

 

When Domina awoke she was still as tired as she had been  when she went to bed in the first place, meetings with Steven were always like that. She was about to turn over and doze back off in an attempt to get at least some type of rest when the warp pad activated. Domina frowned and slipped from her bed to poke her head out the door. Pearl had just stepped off the pad and froze when she saw Domina.

 

“Oh, Pearl.” Domina said with a yawn. “Where have you been?”

 

“I..just went for a walk my apologies my- Domina, did you need something?” Pearl asked. Domina shook her head and thought back to the other times Pearl had been strangely absent. And then she thought about her conversation with Steven and about the Sapphire and Pearl she had had to seperate a few days ago. Was pearl hiding something from her? Someone? What would Domina do if it was her that was brought before the court? Domina chose her next words carefully.

 

“If...there’s something I should know Pearl.” She said. “I mean, I wouldn’t be upset if you told me there was something going on. I don’t think I could ever be upset with you.”  Pearl looked taken aback but quickly shook her head.

 

“No my diamond, everything is fine, I’m sorry for worrying you, you should get some rest while you still can.”

 

“Alright alright I will, just.. Promise me you’ll tell me if I can do something to help?” Domina said pleadingly, unable to shake the screams from her head once they had started again. Pearl was quiet for a long moment before gently setting a hand on Domina’s shoulder. 

 

“I will Domina.”


	5. V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! So.. how about those episodes? there will be somethings from the new episodes incorporated into the chapters as we go on, but not in this one particularly. Really we're so far out of right now that it won't matter but I'll make sure to update the tags accordingly as we go on.  
> This chapter took a little longer than expected but I'm happy with how bits of it came out. Here on AO3 you can find fun side notes if you hold your cursor over certain spots, let me know in the comments (or on Tumblr) if you find them!   
> See you next time!

Blue was surprisingly good at tactical simulators for a Diamond whose focus was diplomacy and culture.

 

Domina tried not to dwell too much on that as she moved her simulated Quartzes into place. 

 

“Yellow has finally ceased the search for Rose Quartz’s offspring,” Blue Diamond said “she seems to be putting things back to normal”

 

“Well that is is good.” Domina said, she had noticed a lingering tension among the three of them. No one knew how much any of the others knew. Domina knew that Blue and Yellow were aware that she had been to earth repeatedly and was trying to protect it for some reason. Domina knew that Blue and Yellow knew about Steven. Yellow and Domina knew how Pink diamond had died. Blue and Domina knew that Yellow was keeping something from her, but did Blue suspect that Domina was too?

 

All these mind games left Domina with headaches more days than not. She was enjoying getting to know Blue Diamond though, Blue was much more amenable to shrinking down to Domina’s size, unlike Yellow, she also actually listened to Domina when she talked about the colonies or her father. 

 

And really, speaking with Blue was like speaking with someone on the complete opposite end of the empire. Sure Domina had been travelling to different planets all her life but she never dealt with any native inhabitants unless they were trying to eat her. 

 

Blue Diamond though spoke of other civilizations as advanced as the empire, of peace talks and trade deals. Blue even introduced her to new classes of gems she hadn’t had much interaction with. Diplomats, translators and linguists, though her meetings with these gems were always poisoned with the tension that having two diamonds in the room brought.

 

“Tell me Domina have you come across anything in your mother's logs?” Blue Diamond asked. She had moved her pieces back in what looked like a retreat, but earlier moves had made it so Domina could only move hers forward, and a trap looked to have been set.

 

“No I have not.” Domina said, there was no use in elaborating, since seeing the video White Diamond had left her a year ago she had completely stopped reading the logs.

 

“Pity.” Blue said, her face had tightened slightly. “I have not been too successful on my front either. I just..” She sighed. “What I wouldn’t give for answers”.  Domina felt Blue Diamond’s emotions radiate off of her and wiped her eyes free of her own tears. She still was not used to the other diamonds emotional projection but she did feel as if they were weakening, perhaps the Diamond was healing? Perhaps it would help if she revealed the accident her mother had been a part of that had caused pink diamonds demise. Domina pushed that thought aside, Yellow had asked her not to.  

 

The wave of emotion subsided and Domina gently put a hand overtop Blue’s own.

 

“I’m sorry.” She said. “I’m sure we’ll find answers” She gave Blue a smile which the diamond gratefully returned.

 

“You remind me of her much of her.” Blue said. Domina didn’t bother to ask who, Blue rarely spoke about Domina’s mother. “You have her enthusiasm and energy.” Her smile faded and she stared off into space. “I have to wonder if Yellow appreciated those aspects.” Domina froze, hand hovering over the piece she was about to move, the one that had been backed into a corner. 

 

“You don’t think Yellow would have....” She said not even able to finish the thought. True, Yellow Diamond was impatient, and on occasion impulsive. She didn’t control her temper well but honestly, those things could be said about any one of the diamonds.

Blue Diamond hummed noncommittally and moved her final piece, a sapphire that was normally ineffectual for most of the game, cinching her victory.

 

“I don’t know who I can trust.” Blue Diamond said. “You have to be able to empathise with me on that front.” She gave Domina a thin smile, and Domina thought back to last year, discovering the truth about the war for Earth, about being locked out of all available information on that period of gem history. 

 

Domina smiled back.

 

****

Trans galaxy warping was always a bit of an odd experience compared to a domestic warp. Sure it was faster than flying but, for those with hard light bodies, a galaxywarp stream was like falling through a wind tunnel. Pearl usually could talk Domina into just flying between colonies but warping was faster and Domina was excited. 36-JK8, newly named Omega 6, had just been hooked up to the galaxy warp system meaning that her Diamond finally had an excuse to visit the fleet. 

 

The pair exited the warp stream, and Domina leapt off the warp pad to tackle Mossy Agate and Milky Quartz 9ZQ. Pearl paused briefly on the crystalline pad to straighten her clothes and put her hair back in order. 

 

“So good to see you guys! Who configured the warp is that 9NY’s work?” Domina asked, “It was smooth, well It was at least smooth from my perspective.” She cast a mischievous grin at Pearl. Pearl’s smile ghosted onto her face but didn’t linger as she saw a flash of the smile Domina had had for the court after sentencing Mauve’s components. 

 

Pearl followed Domina through the day, like she always did. The Diamond had meetings with the various colony overseers, spires to tour, new transfers from Blue Diamond’s court to meet and old friends to catch up with. And as usual Pearl faded into the background, sometimes she fought to keep her mind busy, this time however her mind was already racing with worry. 

 

They were bringing in the Crystal Gems for this. Them and Jet and Her were going to break into the white districts main cell block, one of the most secure prisons on homeworld. And they were going to get Mauve back. All of the sudden those horrible thoughts about Domina finding out about what was going on were once again bubbling to the surface. 

 

Domina entered the Quartz’s practice room and Pearl slipped away. Her and Mossy Agate had been in contact of course. Mossy was the gem in charge of the lead section of the fleet over everyone and everything but the Beyrls who were the colony managers proper, really an out of place position for an Agate but stories were told through the fleet about how the gem had clawed her way to the top and done everything in her power to stay there. Pearl didn’t know then, why Mossy would even consider helping the new rebellion. But she was.

 

“Somethings have been leaking into general circulation.” Pearl said once Mossy had shut the door to one of the storage rooms off one of the bases side hallways.

 

“Shards, has anyone traced it?” 

 

“Not yet, Domina said she was going to take care of it but she has been... occupied.” Pearl said with pursed lips.

 

“Not surprising.” Mossy said. “What’s happened, you seem out of sorts.”

 

“Nothing for you to worry about.” Pearl said, Mossy raised an eyebrow.

 

“The side of things I can’t be trusted with I’m assuming?” She asked.

 

“That would be it.”

 

“Yes well don’t get yourself shattered in the process, as amusing as it would be to watch Domina attempt to onboard a new pearl it’s not worth the headache.” Mossy said. Pearl felt her gem go cold yet again and could hear the word ‘replaceable’ ringing through her head in Jet’s voice.

 

“Right. How inconvenient.” Pearl said trying to keep her voice even. Mossy opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the door opening. Domina poked her head in.

 

“Uh...what are you two doing in here?” Domina asked looking between the two of them. Pearl looked at Mossy who looked back at Pearl and immediately realizes what this situation looked like.

 

“Nothing my Diamond, your Pearl was just assisting me in uh..” Mossy said frantically looking at Pearl.

 

“I was informing her of the materials from here that were reported leaking into Homeworld’s civilian market, we were just inspecting said materials.” Pearl said. Domina smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, she looked between the two again, with a hint of worry in her eyes but nodded.

 

“Good good, thanks for looking into that. I was just wondering if you were ready to go but if your still busy I can go back and talk to 9NY more, she was telling me about working on remotely accessing domestic warps and she can go on for hours for that so it's no is-”

 

“No no my Diamond we’re finished, I apologize for making you have to come look for me.” Pearl said hurriedly exiting the room. 

 

“It’s alright,” Domina said moving to the side to let the two gems out, she looked between the two again. “Really.”


	6. VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. So this chapter, is one of many that I was excited to write, you know, one of those that is a scene that the entire fic hinges on. This is actually one of 3 or 4 of those scenes. the rest of them? Those are going to come in the next few chapters.   
> As always thank you for all the comments and kudos I've gotten so far, and if you want to talk with me more in depth please feel free to talk to me over at domina-alba.tumblr.com
> 
> Until next time!

There were many abandoned docking bays around homeworld so it wasn’t hard to find one that was also out of range of any of the air traffic control towers. Pink waited in silence with Jet. The other Pearl was still mad at her she knew but hopefully after today everything would be ok. She had excused herself from Domina for the day, the girl had been busy going over some of the things that Steven and his friend had sent her, and most likely wouldn’t have noticed her absence even if she hadn’t said something.  She didn’t know what Jet’s excuse was.

****

Domina was trying to concentrate on the third Spirit Morph book,  _ Overneath the Underworld,  _ she really was, This one kept distracting her as she attempted to match up the descriptions of the Underworld both from her father’s stories and what the book described. Steven and Connie both had sent her a wide variety of earth fiction and she was astounded by the variety. There was something else distracting Domina of course, the same thing that had been distracting her all week, Pearl was hiding something. She knew it was probably a relationship. She knew that the incident with the Pearl and Sapphire had probably freaked her Pearl out. She just wish she knew how to bring this subject up, she couldn’t lose Pearl.

****

The roaming eye landed smoothly. Pink waved to the craft moments before the hatch open and White stepped out. 

 

“White,” Pink said “Everything went smoothly I assume?”

 

“Yes much more so this time around,” She said. Oblivious to Jet’s opened mouth awe.

 

“Sup Pinky.” the overcooked Amethyst said hopping out of the craft. The fusion came through , 

having to duck her head to get through the door. She was followed shortly by Steven. 

 

“Hey Pink!” Steven said with a wave. He then grinned broadly at the still starstruck Jet. Pink 

blinked startled.

 

“Steven? Are you sure it’s safe for you too be here.”

 

“He’s as safe here as any of us are.” Garnet said adjusting her glasses. Amethyst slung an arm around stevens shoulder and grinned.

 

“Or at least as safe as we are before Greg finds out we took him to space again.”

****

It took roughly ten minutes for Domina to get ready with Yellow sent a message requesting her and Blue for a meeting about the newest set of planets that had been scouted. Why this couldn’t have waited was beyond Domina. She pulled her jacket and cape over her white jumpsuit, ran her hand through her hair quickly and warped directly to the citadel. 

Where a year ago she walked emotionless through the hallways she smiled at the guards as she passed them, the ones that were used to her smiled back or nodded. Being able to be herself, or rather, no longer caring about upholding White Diamond’s aloof reputation, had made this last year bearable. The other diamonds pearls were inside the room when Domina kicked herself up into the air. Out of the corner of her eye she could see them talking.

 

“Where is your Pearl?” Yellow asked after Domina had landed on a platform that put her roughly level with the other diamonds.

 

“Busy,”

****

“So if I remember right there’s a service entrance at the back.” Pearl said projecting a holographic image of the building in front of them. “Amethyst, You and Pink should be able to get us through the door and hallways with limited issues. After you’ve distracted the guards the rest of us will enter.” 

 

“Right,” Amethyst said shapeshifting into a form that was closer to your average quartz.

 

“Pink you have the location’s?” White asked. Pearl nodded and pointed out the levels. 

 

“Excellent. Garnet and Steven go with Pink to the lower levels. Jet, Amethyst, and I will got to the upper levels. Guards are posted here, here, here and here.”

 

“They’ve never been particularly vigilant” Pink said. “If we’re careful we should be able to sneak right by them.”

****

These kind of meetings were tedious, and repetitive. Yellow and Blue knew the formula as well as Domina did but even so having to repeat that there was little to no way of predicting successful implantation numbers for silica based gems was beginning to wear on her. 

 

“This would be why I’ve been pushing for scrutinizing shattering case more closely, perhaps even allowing for some gems in certain cases to move outside-”

 

“White I told you we are not doing this.”

 

“And just why not Yellow?” Domina asked. 

 

“Because the empire thrives on order.” Blue said from where she had been sitting, mostly just watching Yellow and Domina argue. Blue Diamond gave Domina an indulgent smile. “I understand your accustomed to the colonies, but here with gems that are much closer to the mold it simply will not work.” The cape over White Diamond’s shoulders started to billow slightly.

 

“‘Closer to the mold’?” she asked coldly. “And just exactly what are you implying by that?” Before Blue diamond could respond the door opened. Yellow shot a glare at the Fire Agate that had dared to barge in on a Diamond meeting, Blue sat a little straighter in her seat, White forced the air around her still.

 

“What?” Yellow asked.

 

“Forgive me your radiances but a situation has arisen that I believe should be brought to your attention.” The Fire agate said with a salute that perfectly formed around the white    
diamond on her jumpsuit. “There was an incident within the cell block in the white-”

 

“Domina!!” Steven’s voice shouted from the hallway. Domina felt her face go pale as the eyes of the other two diamonds and their Pearls turn on her.

 

“Oh shards” She muttered. 

 

“White care to explain?” Yellow asked her voice as disapproving as it had ever been.Blue Diamond stood at the sound of Steven’s voice.

 

“Bring them in” She ordered. Domina felt every curse she had ever heard run through her head simultaneously as Steven, the renegade pearl, the Overcooked Amethyst, a ruby and a sapphire were corralled into the room by a group of Jaspers. And then her heart stopped as Pearl was brought in, her pearl. 

 

Yellow’s eyes were burning a hole into her back.

 

“Rose Quartz.” Blue diamond said looking down at the group.

 

“His name is Steven.” Domina said unable to stop staring at Pearl who wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Leave us.” Domina said. The Agate and Jasper Guards bowed and left the room.

 

“Care to explain exactly what’s going on White?” Yellow asked. Domina could feel every instinct inside her screaming to wipe the minds of everyone here and start from scratch, but she saw the renegade’s gem, shaped not unlike Pearls. She needed to use her words for this.

 

“That applied to both of you as well.” Domina said turning to face the other two diamonds. 

 

“Excuse me?” Blue Diamond said.

 

“I said leave,” Her mind was racing like a computer program pulling up files up any scrap of information that could help her. “ I will explain later.”

 

“You can’t expect us to just leave White, These are the ‘crystal’ gems, whats left anyway, this matter is far beyond you.”

 

“These gems are mine.” Domina said, she had remembered something, something that might just get them out of this.

 

“The pearls, are yours. The sapphire and ruby belong- belonged to my court.”

 

“And now they dont” Domina stepped into the air. “Domestic law, 73.962, Criminals whose records have been on file for an excess of 4 millenia are immediately placed in whichever court the member of which has returned them. The recipient court is therefore responsible for dealing punishment as they see fit.” She recited. 

 

The two Diamonds stared at her and then Yellow pulled up a screen and quickly searched for the law. Moments later Yellow Diamond frowned and nodded.

 

“She’s right.”

 

“That’s impossible you-!” Blue started to protest glaring ferociously at the Ruby and Sapphire.

 

“Ha! Take that you Sha-” The Ruby yelled before being cut off by the Sapphire pulling her back and putting a hand over her mouth.

 

“Technically according to that law Rose Quartz belongs to Blue and I.” Yellow said, she raised an eyebrow Domina.

 

“That’s not Rose Quartz, I will grant you he is ‘A’ Rose Quartz but not ‘The’ Rose Quartz, he is in the same category as the amethyst.” Domina said. “Steven how old are you?” She didn’t turn to look at them. She needed to be focused. 

 

“15, Domina I-” He said. 

 

“Time from emergence to report to the nearest commanding officer is 1 decade in extraneous circumstances” Domina cut him off. “He and the Amethyst are both AWOL, and military law 56.2217 dealing with this matter redirects back to the domestic law in the case of off colors, placing them both in the high diamond’s court so that they can either be shattered or reassigned.” Domina finished clasping her hands behind her back like she had seen the Zircons do countless time upon winning a case. 

 

Yellow was already bringing up the military law she had cited. Blue stared at Yellow unblinking the entire time until her fellow diamond frowned and nodded.

 

“We will speak of this later Domina.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“I’m sure.” Domina said. Blue Diamonds face had gone dark and domina could feel her emotions twist slowly, into unadulterated rage as she moved towards Domina, Suddenly Yellow slammed her fist on the arm of a chair.

 

“Enough! Let’s go Blue, we’ll get our answers later!” the rage was gone, Blue Diamonds face retook a relatively facade but she still shot Domina a murderous look as she and Yellow left the room their pearls trailing behind them staring at the party until the last possible moment. 

 

Domina sighed allowing the stress to leave her body as she slowly turned and lowered to the ground to face her next problem. Garnet had reformed by the time she alighted on the ground, and was now giving her the same disapproving look that the renegade was. Steven chuckled nervously.

 

“Funny how we keep meeting like this...” he said twiddling his fingers. Domina didn’t smile, she stared at Pearl, then looked over the crystal gems.

 

“Well,” she said lowly “Is someone going to tell me what the frack is going on?”


	7. VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys, so here's another one of those important chapters. I hope you like it! Without saying too much ahead of time I would be really interested to hear where you think the story is going from here. 
> 
> I have plans to put another chapter out on Wednesday, here's hoping I don't get caught up with other things, otherwise as usual I will see you lovely people on Friday.
> 
> enjoy!

Jet wasn’t with them, she had had her owner identified and been transported back to the spire within minutes of their capture. Stars, the only reason Pearl was here was that her owner happened to be a diamond, The Diamond. 

 

The same diamond that was now giving the assembled group a look that chilled Pink to the core with memories of White Diamond asking her if a pearl was daring to doubt her. She felt White bristling with the idea of belonging to anyone even if Domina had no intention of acting on her claim. Domina’s question hung in the air.

 

Strangely enough it was Amethyst that broke the silence.

 

“Well Pinky’s people asked us to come help bust out a couple of people and we got caught, not much more to explain than that.” Amethyst said.

 

“Amethyst!” Pearl snapped

 

“What she asked!” Amethyst said folding her arms “No use dancing around it, it was gonna come out eventually.” Pink tensed through this exchange and finally dared to meet Domina’s eyes again. Her brow was furrowed and her mouth had come up from its frown into a half open state, ready to pose questions. 

 

“The Sapphire and Pearl.” Domina said finally. “From the hearing?”

 

“Yeah! Why would you have them separated!” Steven asked “You could have just sent them to earth!”

 

“Yes cause I can just do that in the middle of a felony hearing.” Domina said with a slight glare at Steven who flinched. “It wasn’t that easy Steven, nothings ever that easy.” She looked at Pearl. “So this is what you’ve been doing, cloak and dagger stuff?”

 

“I...Yes my-” Pearl started, her words trailed off as Domina face turned from anger to hurt.

 

“I thought.” She rubbed her forehead, where her gem met flesh. “Shards. Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“Ah yes why didn’t your Pearl tell you she was committing treason, think about that White Diamond.” White said. Domina flinched, her hands balling into fists.

 

“Stay out of this White.” Pink said without looking back at the rest of the gems.

 

“Pink you don’t have to put up with this-” White said. Pink turned around to respond but was cut off by Garnet setting a hand on the Renegades shoulder.

 

“Pearl, “ Garnet said. White pursed her lips but turned away from the discussion. Pink sighed and turned back to Domina who was now staring at the floor.

 

“I thought.. Well I thought you would have trusted me enough to...” Domina looked at her there was a slight breeze blowing through the room.

 

“Domina it could have been dangerous if you were involved, it wasn’t.. It isn’t your fight-”

 

“What are you talking about?” Domina asked the wind picked up speed, “I could have helped! 

Maybe not overtly but stars I could have helped more knowing what was going on than being kept in the dark.”

 

“You’re too noticeable! No one notices pearls!”

 

“Too noticeable? I can go weeks without people even thinking I’m anything more than some off color beryl!” Domina said.

 

“That doesn’t mean anything Domina! You’re still a Diamond!”

 

“Well you’re just a Pearl!”

****

_ After all they are just Pearls  _ from a researching Morganite. 

 

_ Your Pearl is defective don’t be sentimental, it’s just a pearl _ from Yellow Diamond. 

 

_ Pearl’s are replaceable! _ From Pearl herself. 

 

It was one thing to hear those words from those around her. But the moment those words left her mouth she felt a chill of horror wash over her body, extinguishing all the rage she had felt moments before. Her hand slapped over her mouth like she could take it back. The wind died. She stared wide at the group that was giving her a well earned look of horror and at Pearl who looked as if Domina had just stabbed her through with her sword.

 

The renegade’s spear appeared in her hand and she moved in front of Pearl who had shrunk back. Steven looked at her with the shame that Domina already felt within herself. 

 

“That’s enough!” The renegade pearl snapped, “Are we free to go?” Domina slowly removed her hand from her face and nodded mutely, averting her eyes from both Pearls. She pulled up a screen and put in a rush request from one of the white district Agates for a group of quartzes that wouldn’t ask questions.

 

“There will be a squad of quartzes at the front.” Domina said. “They’ll escort you back to your ship, get off planet and don’t come back.”

 

“Don’t plan too.” Garnet said. Domina looked at the fusion and saw her own face looking back at her through the gem’s visor. 

 

“Good.” She said, turning away again. “Just... leave.” Amethyst left first followed by Garnet who pulled Steven behind her. The renegade stopped in the doorway and looked back at Pearl who looked as lost as Domina felt.  

 

“My Diamond should I return to the ship?” She asked hesitantly.

 

“No.” Domina said. “Are you cracked? After that?” Domina gestured back to where the other two diamonds had been. “You can’t stay.” She hesitated a glance at Pearl who looked back in shock having gone completely rigid.

 

“But I... Domina.” Pearl said gently placing a hand on Domina’s arm. “I can’t, you don’t have to-” Domina closed her eyes and gently pushed the gem away, she moved without any resistance. 

 

“Just please leave.”

 

“Come on Pink. You can come with us.” The renegade said. Domina didn’t watch as they walked away, but she could hear footsteps recede and doors close. And when they did she made her way to the warp pad and went home. Alone.

 

The moment she had cleared the warp stream there was a chime from her visor. A message about a Jet from Blue Diamond’s court that was giving up her pearl who earlier today had been caught assisting known rebels in a break in in the white district. Domina hesitated but still passed it over to Blue. This wasn’t her problem.

 

Domina fell back onto one of the couches feeling entirely numb, she should sleep, or eat or do something to take care of herself but... what was the point? The door to Pearl’s room caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She had promised Pearl when they were remodeled the lower levels of the flagship that she would give the gem her privacy. But pearl wasn’t here and that was her fault. 

 

Domina opened the door and stepped into the mostly dark room, There was a bed that Domina was almost positive had never been used, a small cabinet and a desk with a small pile of holofische on it. Domina frowned and picked one up, a set of cell numbers, the one below that was a list of materials that had been retired from the fleet and below that lists of numbers, requests. It went on and on, each piece tying the knot in Domina’s stomach tighter and tighter until finally she snapped and knocked the desk to ground, sending the remainder of the pile flying. 

 

Domina sunk to the group with the holofische. They scattered around her as she drew her knees to her chest in an effort to stop the ache, the kind of pain she had never thought she would ever feel. It had been her fault, she had been the one that pearl hadn’t trusted, she had been the one that sentenced the sapphire and pearl. She had sent pearl away! And compounded with what she had said... how she had acted. Pearl would never forgive Domina. And that was her fault.    
  


A handful of fische, one she hadn’t seen yet fell next to her. With shaking fingers Domina picked them up. They were crude pictures she had draw when she was younger, or sheets from her childhood lessons, notes from Yellow’s lectures. Below each of them was a note in Pearl’s pristine handwriting,  _ Domina age 3, Milky Quartz 9ZQ and others _ .  _ Domina Age 9 Declensions for latin nouns Adamas and Margarita . Domina age 16 notes on colonization of the Allodial system and doodles of era 1 light kites. _

 

There were more as she searched, almost every single scrap of information she had ever produced. From every stage of her life. Pearl had been there. And now she was gone. And that ache in her heart, the catch in her throat. That was all Domina’s fault.


	8. VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still planning to update Friday, Enjoy your bonus chapter!

Your average pearl, one belonging to a high ranking Morganite, Sodalite or Emerald were frequently in each others company one way or another whether they all belonged to the same owner or not. 

 

The Diamond’s Pearls though, they only had each other. Yellow remembered when she had been made, or rather shortly after that, when for a brief time it had just been her and White. The other pearl was just happy to have some company, she was exuberant and had an ambition that would be considered defective in anything but a Diamond’s Pearl. But she also knew how to reign it in, she was the perfect pearl in so many ways. And then she wasn’t. 

 

Blue had been made shortly after she was, their diamonds were only five hundred years apart and they themselves had only 200 years between them, maybe. Where white and Yellow were loud and tended to try to talk over each other, blue was quiet, always listening, willing to wait and blow everyone away with a few words. And they existed as three for so long before Pink joined them. 

 

Among the Diamond’s Pink Diamond was....exuberant, petulant and very impatient. Really that’s what her pearl should have been like. But Pink was quiet, caring, cautious and above all patient. She was the one that suffered the most when White rebelled, the one who had her life upturned completely. 

 

They were four and then three and now once again there were only two Diamond’s Pearls. And Yellow couldn't bring herself to talk to the other one. She knew Blue had been the one to get Pink into all of this mess, the one that had culminated in an over cooked amethyst, the heterogenous fusion, white, the hybrid rose quartz and pink being dragged before the diamonds all those months ago. And ultimately Blue was the reason that Yellow was warping alone to ‘remind’ white diamond of her meeting with the other two diamonds. The one to explain exactly what had happened on earth. The one that White Diamond had been putting off for 3 months.

 

Finding said Diamond was harder than she expected. White Diamonds study and the control room for the ship were completely empty and hadn’t been used in well over a year. The hanger was also empty with the exception of the normal complement of escape pods and an ancient drop ship pod. 

 

The lower storage area was Yellow Pearl’s last resort, if only to be able to truthfully tell her diamond that she looked everywhere. Instead of corridors and dusty rooms she arrived in a large open space with a few doors leading to side rooms. The main room was rather messy, clothes and holofische littered the floor. 

 

White Diamond herself was sitting on a couch near the warp pad, her head was arched back on the couch and her eyes were closed. Yellow Pearl believed that meant she was sleeping. How exactly one woke a sleeping diamond on the other hand...

 

“Your Brilliance?” She said hesitantly. White Diamond didn’t react. 

 

“Your Brilliance.” Yellow moved a little bit closer. Still nothing. She did recall that Pink had mentioned before that her diamond slept deeply and was occasionally hard to rouse. And she also remembered that this diamond, unlike her predecessor or even Yellow Diamond herself, was rather forgiving when protocol was breached. Yellow Pearl gently put a trembling hand on White diamonds shoulder and shook it slightly. 

 

“Your brilliance, if I could have your attention.” White Diamond’s eyes opened at the contact and her head came up to stare at Yellow Pearl with unfocused eyes.

 

“Pearl?” She asked, her voice was slightly garbled. Yellow retracted her hand immediately and took a step back. She could see the diamond’s face fall when, as Yellow suspected, she realized that she was not the Pearl she was expecting. Yellow opened her mouth to deliver her message but was cut off by the diamonds exclamation. “Shards!” White Diamond got to her feet quickly. “Yellow sent you to make sure I hadn’t run off, again, didn’t she?”

 

“Yes your brilliance.”

 

“Sorry about that.” White Diamond ran her fingers through her uneven hair and looked down at herself. “I’m going to need a few minutes to get cleaned up if you want to head back.”

 

“I was told not to return without you Your Brilliance.” Yellow pearl said quickly “my apologies.” White Diamond gave her a wry smile.

 

“That was probably a safe idea on Yellow’s part. I’ll be quick.” She said turning to enter one of the rooms.

****

The haircut she had given herself last week was possibly even worse than the one she had done after her father had died. Domina tried to comb it into some semblance of decency after her shower and changing her clothes. 

 

She hadn’t actually intended to fall asleep on the couch, she had planned to warp to Alpha-8 to check in with some recent transfers from Blue’s court. But she had sat down and opened her screen to delete yet another message from Steven, and three days of sleeplessness finally caught up to her. By her estimates she had been out for roughly 4 hours. 

 

Domina dressed plainly, she simply didn’t have the urge to grandstand, especially since everything was about to blow up in her face. If she could keep the other two away from earth after this conversation though, then really that was all that mattered.

 

When she returned to the main room of her apartment it had been tidied, the holofishe of reports had been collected and put on the table next to the couch, her clothes had been folded and stacked neatly on the couch, and any remnants of meals had been disposed up. Yellow’s Pearl waited by the warp pad.

 

“You really didn’t have to do this.” Domina said sliding her visor over her eyes.

 

“It was no trouble your brilliance.” Yellow Pearl said. Domina felt a twinge of irritation but shook it off.

 

“Please don’t bother with the title.” She said stepping on to the warp pad. “You’ve known me long enough that Domina is fine.” Yellow pearl didn’t say anything in the warp stream but Domina could tell she was uncomfortable. Still she followed her off the warp pad in the Diamond Authority’s citadel in silence.

 

“Your Brilliance” Yellow Pearl said finally breaking the silence between them as she trailed behind her. 

 

“Domina.” domina corrected.

 

“White Diamond.” Yellow Pearl said firmly, before covering her mouth “I apologize I didn’t mean to-” Domina smiled and chuckled very softly, the first laugh she had had in months.

 

“It’s fine, you had a question?”

 

“I...it’s not my place but..Pi-.. your pearl, is... what happened to her?” Yellow asked. Domina stumbled in her steps. Then she felt slightly ashamed, Yellow’s Pearl had to have know her pearl for longer than Domina had been alive, last time she saw her she had been dragged in front of the Diamonds with a group of known rebels. 

  
“She’s fine, or well.. She was alive when I saw her last.” Domina said, she mulled over it for a moment, not like the Pearl, both of them, wouldn’t know soon enough anyway. “She went with the Crystal Gems so I imagine she’s on earth.” She saw tension leave Yellow Pearl but the gem didn’t say anything as she opened the door. 

 

Domina kicked herself into the air and landed on her platform, facing her fellow diamonds.

 

“So nice of you too join us White.” Yellow drawled leaning back in her seat.

 

“I lost track of time my apologies.” Domina said. 

 

“Before you begin Domina I have a question for Yellow.” Blue Diamond stood. “After the incident one of the members of this upstart organization was insinuated to me that you are keeping information from me Yellow. About pinks Death.”

 

“And really Blue you're going to believe one desperate gem’s attempts to save her shards from being scattered across the floor?”

 

“No not one, twelve. Twelve separate gems, all found to be members of this ‘New Rebellion’, all have implied that you know something.” Blue said. Yellow was keeping her face neutral but Domina saw the Diamond cast her a worried glance. 

 

“That’s ridiculous,”

 

“Is it Yellow? Is it ridiculous when at every turn you come up with something to block my investigations?”

 

“Why do you need an investigation?” Yellow stood. “Rose Quartz is responsible for Pinks Death Why can’t you just leave it at that!”

 

“Because it’s not true Yellow, It doesn’t make any sense and you know it!”

 

“Oh and blaming me makes more sense?”

 

“You can’t tell me you don’t know anything!”

 

“I-”

 

“Yellow enough!” Domina shouted interrupting them. Both Diamonds turned their attention back to her, she was now hovering mid air. Part of her regretted this decision immediately, she should have used their argument to slip out of the room and escape to... anywhere at this point. The other part of her knew that this had to end. These secrets had to stop. “I found this video.” She said.

 

“White what are you-” Yellow began, Domina continued over her.

 

“Last year, while I was on earth. Mother left it for me.” Domina said quickly, she pulled up the file and played the video, projecting it outwards. 

 

“Hello Child, I am not expecting you to see this until you are well within your abilities as a diamond.To be quite honest if it wasn’t for.. Certain sensitive information I believed needed to be delivered to you as directly as possible, I would not have bothered to create this video for you.” White Diamond’s voice said.

 

“Domina what does this have to do with-” Blue began, Yellow held out a hand to quiet her as she stared at the image of Domina’s mother. 

 

Domina didn’t look at the screen, she listened in silence to her mother’s story of regrets, to the sound of a millennia old being giving up and dropping her problems into the lap of her daughter. A daughter she never would have made if it wasn’t for the fact that it was a convenient way for her to disappear. 

 

The video ended leaving Yellow and Blue both stunned. Domina powered down her visor.

 

“There’s your answer.” She said. The silence was overwhelming and felt like it lasted for days rather than minutes.

 

“So you knew.” Blue Diamond finally said. Domina could feel her emotional field growing, this one felt different, more calculated, projected. “You’ve known for a year you said?” 

 

“Yes, I’m sorry I should have-”

 

“I told her not to tell you Blue,” Yellow Diamond said. “I had promised White, she thought it was for the best.”

 

“Ah yes.” Blue diamond said, her voice even and cold. “I understand perfectly.” The field had passed the now cowering pearls and was just starting to reach Domina and Yellow even as both of them backed away from their fellow diamond.

 

“You do?” Domina asked right before the pure unadulterated fear hit her, causing her to drop like a rock to the floor where her arm gave a sickening crunch.

 

“Domi-” Yellow called out moments before she also fell to the floor, seconds before the doors to the meeting hall flew open and a full regiment of quartzes flooded the room.

 

“Seize them,” Blue Diamond said “kill the hybrid if you must.”


	9. IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter! It was a lot of fun to write, almost as much as this one! I've really appreciated all the comments you guys have given over the last few chapters and I really hope you like what's to come, if I do say so my self... it's going to get interesting.
> 
> See you next time! Enjoy!

The Diamond’s Pearls only had each other. Blue knew Yellow was mad at her, had been mad at her since this whole thing with Pink started. 

 

That didn’t stop her from yanking her fellow pearl too her feet and out of the way. She still felt the fear projecting out from her diamond who stood calmly in the eye of the storm, but centuries upon centuries of having her emotions manipulated had made her numb to it, numb to most emotions in reality.

 

As the quartzes swarmed the room she pulled the shaking form of Yellow Pearl into a divot in the wall, all they could do from there was watch as the chaos unfolded. 

 

****

 

Yellow Diamond fought. 

 

She fought against the Quartzes who dared attempt to ‘seize’ a diamond, knocking them back and disrupting their forms, relishing the crunch as their gems were trampled or kicked in the process. 

 

She fought against the image of Domina’s body curled up on the floor whimpering where she had fallen. 

 

She fought against the wave of raw fear that permeated her form and reverberated against her very core, the voices telling her over and over that she would never be as good a leader as White in favor of the pure rage that consumed her.

 

“Blue what are you doing?” She shouted letting loose another blast of lightning. The Quartzes dodged out of the way for the most part.

 

“Enacting Justice.”  Blue said. The voices got louder, Blue was losing control, Yellow could see some of the Diamonds own quartzes turning tail to run “You lied to me Yellow and how dare you! I trusted you!”

 

“It was White’s Idea.” Yellow said through gritted teeth. “We had just lost pink we needed to keep the authority together!”

 

“White’s Idea?!” Blue strode forward, moving towards both Diamonds, Yellow tried to stand but she couldn’t it was as if she was frozen to the spot, she couldn’t get her gem to glow. “White’s not here Yellow, stop making excuses for her, she never cared about the ‘authority’ she cared about keeping the status quo, She didn’t care for Pink, She didn’t care for me and she didn’t care for you!”

 

“That’s not tru-” 

 

“If she did she wouldn’t have left this incompetent thing in her place!” Blue said gesturing to Domina’s shaking form. “The authority has been broken since she shattered Pink, and now I’m going to make it right!”

 

“You can’t do this alone Blue.”

 

“Why not? I’ve managed to do this by myself. I arranged my own gems into key positions, I’ve been doing this for millennia Yellow and you didn’t even bat an eye. 30% of the agates and beryls within your court are loyal to me. Within the hybrid’s court the count is even higher. You’ve lost Yellow, admit it.”

 

****

Any good Pearl had a healthy sense of fear. Yellow Diamond’s Pearl was no exception. Her diamond was prone to bursts of anger, important gems took out the frustrations they could not show her diamond on her. Every pearl she had ever been close with was involved in some stars forsaken rebellion and hadn’t thought for a moment about how it was going to affect those around them, how it was going affect her. 

 

Blue was holding herself together. Of course she was, she had been dealing with Blue diamond’s more literal emotional outbursts. It was to be expected. What was not to be expected was the glow of her fellow pearls gem.

 

“W-what are you doing? “She stammered out now was not the time for Blue to start retrieving things from her gem. Nothing she could possible have would help. They needed to get out of here. From blue’s gem emerged a shaft of dark blue, and with the flick of her wrist an ornate silvery ax head popped into existence.

 

“Ending this. Stay here.” Blue Pearl said moments before she disappeared into the crowd of retreating quartzes

****

 

You don’t live for 4000+ years without breaking bones. The first time Domina had broken something she was 5, she got too excited and flung herself into an overhead girder, breaking her clavicle. 

 

Since then she had learned to be more careful, and learned how to fall correctly. If she had been in a more cognizant state of mind she would have rolled when the wave of fear and self doubt knocked her out of the air. There was one good thing about the fear though, it gave her something else to concentrate on than the excruciating pain in her arm. 

Unfortunately that something happened to be disembodied voices shrieking at her that this was all her fault, that because of her stupid choices she was going to die. She couldn’t even protect herself from the quartz that had pulled her to her feet. She couldn’t protect earth, she couldn’t protect Steven or the crystal gems, she couldn’t protect the fleet or Yellow or...or Pearl, and that was all her Father had asked of her.

 

And then the fear was gone, as abruptly as it had arrived. 

 

It fell away and was replaced with a rolling cloud of smoke as Blue Diamond released her physical form and retreated into her gem. In almost an instant Yellow Diamond had stood, and let loose a wave of energy dissipating all the quartzes that were still in the room before catching Blue’s gem in one hand and setting it gently on her chair.

 

Domina fell back to the floor landing on her knees, her heart still pounding, adrenaline still racing through her adrenal system. She hazarded a glance up and saw Blue’s pearl, standing where Blue Diamond had been seconds before, holding an ax.

 

“You useless piece of nacre! You knew didn’t you?” Yellow Diamond said stalking towards the pearl, lightning sparking from her hand, somewhat weaker now than it had been moments before.

 

“I knew nothing about this.” Blue Pearl said holding her ground, still clinging to her ax, she didn’t even flinch.

 

“My Diamond she-”

 

“Shut up Pearl.”

 

“Yellow, This isn’t the time.” Domina said getting to her feet, she felt dizzy but still felt nothing more than a throbbing from her right arm. 

 

“Domina you’re-”

 

“I’ll live, we need to get out of here, can you get a hold of any of your gems, we need to figure out what’s going on out there.” Domina said already opening her own visor with one shaking hand, it had cracked on one screen giving nothing but a blurry display on that side. 

 

She attempted to contact the local Agate patrols and got nothing in return. District managers, nothing. Inner Colony administrators, nothing. From the irritated exclamations from Yellow, Domina could tell that the other diamond was having as much luck. Finally Domina contacted the fleet, Mossy Agate, if anyone would pick up it would be her. And pick up she did.

 

“Domina are you alright?” Mossy asked the moment the call went through. The gems face was as calm as ever but there were lines of tension here. In the background she could hear fighting.

 

“Yes, I’m fine” Domina said grimacing as she suddenly remembered why gesturing wasn’t a good idea at the moment. “what’s the situation there.”

 

“Not good, I’m assuming you know about coup that’s being attempted?”

 

“Yes yes, Blue Diamond’s form has been dissipated, “

 

“Well someone tell these clods that!” 9ZQ’s sarcastic voice drifted in from the background. “I’m sure they’ll just stand down!” Mossy Agate sighed and quickly disappeared from view, there was the sound of laser fire, then the gem was back. 

 

“Get somewhere safe, I don’t know how this is going to pan out but you are in danger my diamond.”

 

“What about you and the crew?”

 

“Not much loyal crew left,we’re retreating we’ll be fi-

 

“Mossy Agate the warp is ready!” the sound of Peridot 9NY’s voice came over the call.

 

“Stay safe.” Mossy Agate said before the call abruptly ended. Domina blinked as the screen went dark then pulled off her visor and jammed it into her pocket, wincing as the broken shards cut into her good palm. 

 

“We need to get out of here.” She said looking at the three gems who had been staring at her.

 

“And where exactly do you propose we go Domina,” Yellow asked folding her arms angrily. “from what I can tell the city is over run, My armship doesn’t connect to the local warp. And you... don’t look like your in any position to help fight our way over there.”

 

“The Styx.”

 

“The what?”

 

“My ship, it’s docked in the flag ship we can take the warp directly there, you’ll need to shrink though.” Domina said. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes and in a flash of light was only a little taller than Domina.

 

“Then let’s go” The hall still contained quartzes, they were quickly dispatched with zaps of lightening but Domina could tell that Yellow’s strength was waning. She couldn’t focus enough to draw her sword, Her steps were shaky, and she was so so tired. “Absolutely not.” Yellow Diamond said when they got to the warp pad. Domina frowned and turned to see Blue Pearl standing a little away from them, Yellow Pearl looked up at her diamond pleadingly.

 

“Yellow, she’s fine.” Domina said.

 

“She belongs to Blue!”

 

“Who she just betrayed which resulted in us actually being able to debate this.” Domina said gesturing with her head for Blue Pearl to join them on the pad  “She’s in as much danger as the rest of us.”

 

“She’s just a Pearl!” Yellow Diamond said gesturing wildly, jostling Domina’s arm in the process. Domina did her best not to scream but a yelp did escaped before she bit down on the side of her mouth to hold it back. Yellow Diamonds eyes went wide and she edged away from Domina with concerned. It took Domina a moment to compose herself

 

“I don’t care.” Domina said 

 

“That’s a drop ship pod.” Yellow said flatly the moment they exited the warp nstream. 

 

“It’s been modified but essentially yes, it’s maneuverable and fast and as far as I know cannot be tracked,” Domina said opening the Styx with her left hand, blood smeared on the access panel. 

 

“You can’t honestly expect me to-”

 

“Yellow!” Domina snapped. “I’m exhausted, and in a ridiculous amount of pain. So, honestly at the moment I can’t bring myself to care about your opinion of my ship.” She said. Yellow Pearl looked rapidly between the two of them. “Are you coming or not?”


	10. X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be the first to admit that this chapter is largely a cool down from the ridiculousness that has been the past 3 (4? 5?!?) chapters of this fic. theres some plot stuff, some healing, Blue Pearl and Domina get to interact so thats pretty freaking cool. As is such this chapter is a bit short but I'm also working on another project you guys should keep an eye on, especially if your into Connieswap..... 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter! See you Friday!

Flying one handed was difficult, Domina had done it before but experience didn’t make it any easier. Thankfully after the ship jumped to hyperspeed she could set it on auto pilot and stumble back to where Pearl kept the medical supplies. 

 

“Is this a Light Kite engine?” Yellow Diamond shouted from the engine bay. Domina rolled her eyes as she searched for one of the healing casts. 

 

“It’s been modified to compensate for the additional weight but yes.”  She called back. She ripped the package open with her teeth, ignoring the looks of horror she was getting from the Pearls who had sequestered themselves out of the way.

 

“You can’t just shove a Light Kite engine in a Drop Ship pod. Between this and the Roaming eye guidance system, What were you even thinking White!” Yellow emerged from the back of the ship to stare down at Domina seated on what was usually Pearl’s bed, medical supplies piled around her.

 

“I was thinking, ‘Oh Cool this is going to be able to go really fast, and hold all the fracking things I need to be able to care for my fracking stupid flesh body and isn’t shaped like a fracking head!’” Domina slid the pink cuff over her arm, sliding it down to the portion where her arm had fractured, then squeezed lightly to activate it. It immediately constricted tightly, forcing her arm straight. 

 

Domina screamed, her free hand coming up to cover her mouth too late. The pain receded a few milliseconds later as the  analgesic entered her system. Domina looked up at Yellow Diamond who was now also looking at her in horror. “Now, any other questions?” She asked as calmly as possible. 

 

“Where are we going?” Yellow Diamond asked after a moment. Domina got to her feet and moved to the ships console.

 

“The Crystal system, speaking of which I need to make sure that we’re not going to get smacked out of orbit, again.” She said.

 

“Oh we are going to get to have that conversation after all.” Yellow said dryly

 

“I knew you were looking forward to it.” Domina said, she brought up the call system then after a moment's thought, angled herself to avoid having yellow or the Pearls in the background of the call. 

 

Peridot answered,looked momentarily relieved when she saw it was Domina, then hesitant.

“White Diamond, I was not expecting you to contact me.” She said. Out of the corner of her eye Domina could see a look of realization dawn on Yellow Diamond’s face.

 

“Well some.. Unplanned things arose, Nice to see you again 5XG.” 

 

“I um, heard from Steven that you and him did not part on the best of terms during his trip to homeworld.” 

 

“That’s one way of putting it, Is-” Domina began

 

“Woah Peridot is that Domina!?!” Steven’s voice came from the other side of the transmission. Domina felt her face go slightly red.

 

“Er, yes” Peridot moved to the side and Steven sat down next to her.

 

“Hey Domina did you get my messages?” Steven asked.

 

“I did, I’ve been busy” Domina said glancing away from the screen again, Yellow Diamond was staring at the screen, and her with an incredulous expression. “Hey Steven, Somethings have come up and I promise I’ll explain when we get there.”

 

“Wait we?”

 

“I’ll explain later, can you let Garnet know we’ll be there in about two hours, and please don’t let Lapis smack us out of the atmosphere, again.”

 

“Uh.. yeah, sure? Is everything alright?” Steven asked

 

“To be honest no.” Domina said.

 

“Oh.. ok sorry um..Pink will be happy to see you.” Steven said. Domina’s heart ached for a moment and she bit her lip.

 

“I’m not so sure about that but I guess we’ll see.” Domina forced a smile Steven gave her a weak one in return.

 

“See you in two hours!”

 

“See you in two hours.” Domina said and ended the call. The screen collapsed leaving Yellow Diamond and both pearls staring at her.

 

“Talk.” Yellow Diamond said through gritted teeth. “Now.”

****

“Did you really not know anything about this?” White Diamond’s voice jolted Blue Pearl out of her thoughts. They were alone in the cockpit of this highly unconventional ship. Yellow Diamond and her pearl had retreated to the rear of the ship, Yellow Pearl hadn’t been particularly pleased to be pulled away but really there was nothing to be done about that. Honestly Blue Pearl had thought that White Diamond had been asleep.

 

“No, I did not Your Brilliance.” Blue Pearl said. White Diamond sighed and gestured to the other seat in the cockpit, indicating that Blue Pearl should sit down. 

 

“Please, call me Domina, or at least White Diamond, I hate that title.” She grumbled. Blue Pearl hesitantly sat. She had never actually interacted much with Pink’s diamond. All she had to go off about the Diamonds personality out side of the meetings with the other two diamonds,  was descriptions from Pink and Yellow. Neither ‘New made Ruby’ nor ‘Overly friendly Feldspar’ really seemed to particularly fit at this moment. 

 

“As you wish... Domina.” Blue pearl said judging the Diamonds expression. Her face was bruised and she had dark circles under her eyes, she certainly didn’t look imposing or harsh. Domina simply smiled in return. 

 

“Thanks,” She said, then hesitated. “I haven’t asked Yellow, er Yellow Pearl that is, Did you know about...” Domina looked away from her uncomfortably, then sighed. “About Pink? What she was doing.” Blue Pearl took her time with responding. She knew of both Jet’s and Pinks opinion of Domina. Then again she also knew that there wasn’t that much of the ‘New Rebellion’ left. White Diamond certainly wasn’t in a position to harm any part of it, other that Blue Pearl herself and she had already shown herself to be reluctant on that part. 

 

“Yes. I am the one that involved her in this.” She said. Domina blinked surprised.

 

“You? Really?”

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Wow... How long?” The Diamonds tone was not accusatory, simply curious

 

“Several thousand years, around the time you first came to homeworld I believe. Do not blame her for-”

 

“I’m not blaming anyone.” Domina said cutting her off, Blue Pearls mouth snapped shut and she frowned in distaste. She did not appreciate being interuppted. “I just.. Well maybe I’m blaming myself, I wish I could have...” Domina glanced back at the back of the ship and dropped her voice. “I would have helped if she asked,” Blue Pearl stared at White diamond for a long moment from behind her bangs.

 

“You would have... helped?” She asked. 

 

“If I could have.. I...” Domina shook her head. “Never mind, I’m being stupid, anyway, it’s in the past. When did you learn to summon a weapon?”

 

“Centuries ago.” Blue Pearl said, thousands of years of being left to her own devices led to her learning to do all sorts of things.

 

“And you could do it through Blue’s” Domina frowned and shook her head “that’s going to get confusing fast. Anyway you could summon it even with Blue Diamond’s Aura, thats impressive. I couldn’t even think straight.”

 

“It has lost it’s affect on me.” Blue Pearl said flatly. Domina turned her attention back to the screen and seemed to think it over for a few moments.

 

“Well that’s good.”

 

“Not really. Being unable to feel emotions is not...pleasant.” 

 

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Domina said quickly. Blue Pearl smiled, a tiny smile where Yellow or Pink might have laughed, it was ridiculous, a Diamond apologizing to a pearl.

 

“You are not to blame Domina.” She said. Domina may have responded but at that moment they dropped out of Hyperspeed and the Earth came in to view. Yellow Diamond returned to the cockpit, Blue Pearl reclaimed her position next to Yellow Pearl, as they braced themselves for arrival on earth.

 


	11. XI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was another one of those chapters I've really been looking forward to. So I hope you guys enjoy it! 
> 
> I've been doing quite a bit this week, thanks to br42 from the [ Connieswap ](http://archiveofourown.org/series/630527) team I now know how to embed pictures into the text itself. Speaking of Connieswap! I wrote an Omake for them this week in which Earth recieves some unexpected visitors... maybe perhaps two from this very series! you can find that [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/30871326) and if you haven't read Connieswap I definitely recommend it. Anyway if you like this chapter I'd love to hear from you either in the comments or through an ask on the [ tumblr! ](https://domina-alba.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
> enjoy the chapter!

Domina had landed the Styx thousands of time, but none filled her with such dread as this landing. 

 

There was the obvious acknowledgement that she hadn’t parted with any of the Crystal Gems on good terms the last time they met. There was the memory of Pearl’s betrayed expression moments before she sent her away. There was the worry that this time Lapis would be encouraged to smack the Styx out of the atmosphere, especially if Garnet had seen who all was on board this ship. 

 

Nothing though, quite explained the lurch in her stomach, the chill that ran up her spine when she saw the aerial view of Beach City below. 

 

Domina let the autopilot land the Styx, for the first time in 4,000 years. The moment it was set she turned away from the screen and stared at the floor in an attempt to get the whole of reality to stop spinning.

 

“Do you actually have a plan?” Yellow Diamond asked.

 

“Yes, talk to them.” She said. There was a long pause where the only sound was the engines backing off as the Styx slowed in it’s decent.

 

“...and?” Yellow diamond prompted.

 

“That’s all I’ve got.” Domina gave her fellow diamond a strained smile. “I’m kind of making it up as I go along if you hadn’t noticed.” Yellow diamond pinched the bridge of her nose.

 

“Of course you are.” She muttered. The Ship came to a rest, Domina stood, straightened her jacket, and ran her fingers through her hair. 

 

“Just... wait here for a moment,” She said. Outside the ship she could see the Gems waiting with Steven, They looked apprehensive, or downright hostile in the case of the only, particularly colorful, Pearl. Yellow diamond rolled her eyes and crossed her arms but didn’t follow Domina as she exited the ship.

 

The moment she set foot on the sand the smell of earth hit Domina. During the meetings she had with Steven she got glimpses and hints of the life of the planet, the  _ growth _ that seemed to permeate all facets of the planet. But it was nothing compared to what she felt now.  Domina stopped at the place where the ship met the sand and paused, two hours of time to think and she still hadn’t quite come up with the right words. Thankfully Steven was there to save her.

 

“You’re hurt! What happened?!” He said rushing over to her.

 

“I fell, It’s fine it’ll heal.” Domina said.

 

“Well I can-”

 

“Steven please don’t lick my arm.” 

 

“Right ok,” Steven said, He glanced at the ship behind her then back at the gems and then back at her. “So uh what’s going on?” Domina hesitated and then looked at Garnet.

 

“Bring them out Domina.” The Fusion said folding her arms. Domina nodded.

 

“Just... don’t panic, we’re not here to fight.” Domina said. She stepped back onto the ship and gestured for the group to emerge. 

 

Blue Pearl emerged first, followed by a streak of yellow headed straight for the Renegade Pearl. 

 

“You idiot!” She shouted swinging wildly at the other Pearl. The Renegade ducked.

 

“Yellow I-”

 

“You absolute clod!” Yellow Pearl swung again, this punch low where Pearl caught it.

 

“Yellow really-”

 

“If it wasn’t bad enough that you had to run off with that star’s cursed quartz,” Yellow Pearl swung for a third time with her free hand, it was also caught by Pearl.

 

“Yellow honestly you-”

 

“You had to leave the three of us to deal with your mess!”  Yellow Pearl yanked her hands back and glared flaming daggers at the renegade pearl.

 

“Good to see you too Yellow.” Renegade Pearl said with a roll of her eyes. Towards the other end of the group Domina could see slow terror begin to manifest on Peridot 5XG’s face as she placed the Pearl.

 

“Ahem.” Yellow Diamond said giving her Pearl a disapproving look. Yellow Pearl tensed. And so did everyone else as they noticed the Diamond who had emerged. Peridot shrieked and dove behind Garnet. A watery fist emerged from the ocean in time with Lapis’s own. Amethyst and the Renegade Pearl drew their weapons. Yellow Diamond scoffed and rolled her eyes but Domina could feel a faint electricity in the air next to her.

 

“Uh... Hi Yellow Diamond.” Steven said staring at the other Diamond with equal parts nervousness, terror and confusion.

 

“Rose Qu-” Yellow Diamond began before she was cut off by Domina’s elbow to where her ribs would be. “Er... Steven?” 

 

“Why would you bring her here.” Lapis Lazuli asked. The watery fist was looking more threatening.

 

“As she said we’re not here to fight, Lazuli.” Yellow Diamond said. Domina could feel her hair starting to stand on end. 

 

“Then why are you here.”  Lapis said. Domina swore the oceanic appendage was getting larger. Even so she stepped forward, putting herself between Lapis and Yellow Diamond.

 

“Blue Diamond’s seized control of homeworld.” Domina said. “Only reason we even made it out was because Blue Pearl poofed her.”

 

“You did!?” the Renegade Pearl said eyes darting to look at the demure form of Blue Pearl who was still standing off to the side away from both groups.

 

“I did.” She said softly.

 

“Aww yeah!”Amethyst cheered.

 

“It was the second coolest thing I’ve ever seen a Pearl do.” Domina said with a grin only to receive a look from Yellow Diamond. “Anyway... neither of us have been able get in contact with the inner planets or any district head,” the renegade pearl frowned. “I did manage to get a hold of the head of the fleet and...they’re.” Domina hesitated the full weight of Mossy’s shouted message finally hitting her now in this moment of relative peace. “They’re over run.”

 

There was a pause as the words processed with the rest of the gems.

 

“Well you’re safe here!” Steven gesture wildly. “I mean I’m sure it’s fine if you stay.” He turned and looked back at Garnet. The fusion adjusted her glasses slightly.

 

“We will have a lot to discuss.” She said. “But yes. You can stay.”

 

“Thank you.” Domina uneasily looked at the group again. “So um... where’s...Where’s Pink?”

 

****

 

When she was first made she remembered being scared. Like all gems Pink Pearl knew her purpose the first time she took her physical form. She was to serve Pink Diamond, to do anything her diamond asked and if she failed she would be shattered.

 

It was the highest level a Pearl could ever hope to attain. And it wasn’t one Pink Pearl had asked for.

 

_ “Pearl, sing for me.” _

_ “Pearl, I’m bored.” _

_ “Pearl, really all this rebel nonsense is exhausting, dance for me.” _

 

When Pink Diamond was shattered, she hadn’t asked to be transferred to White Diamonds service. She hadn’t asked to be saddled with caring for a human, or to end up serving the first Diamond-Human hybrid. Despite how enjoyable those last two tasks had been they hadn’t been what she would have picked for herself if she had had her choice. 

 

_ “Pearl, bring me the reports from Moss Agate.” _

_ “Pearl, you will be responsible for the human’s well being.” _

_ “Pearl, serve this child as you did me. Better in fact.” _

 

The first time she had actually made a choice, the first time she had made a decision for a direction to take for her own life was the decision she made with Jet and Blue in the caverns beneath Homeworld. And she could have backed out of the rebellion at any time.  But she stayed and it was so refreshing to have made a choice, a dangerous one yes but a choice nonetheless.

 

_ “We’re not talking about charging at one of the palanquins, or sabotaging kindergartens Pink.”  _

 

_ “Yellow says your diamond has been miserable since she got here, this could be a way to free her from all this.”  _

 

_ “We both know that the system is bad for every gem involved in it. Help us take it down.” _

 

Domina’s existence had put her in the position to join the new rebellion. Her misery on homeworld had catalyzed her initial decision. But Pearl’s desires to make her own decisions for once in her life, that's what kept her part of it all.

 

In the end, did it really mattered all that much? She was right back where she started. Pink Pearl sat still just outside the ruined palanquin, legs drawn up to her chest. Her memories of this place specifically were clouded in static but it was nice. The ground was soft. The flowers smelled sweet when mixed with the mountain air. A faint breeze blew around her. A good place to be alone with your thoughts.

 

_ “Puhl! Up!” _

 

_ “Pearl! Pearl! Look what I can do!” _

 

 _“Pearl,_ _You’re the best.”_

 

“Pearl?” Domina’s very real voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Pink Pearl shot to her feet and turned to see Domina with a pink cast around her arm. Her eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles around them and her hair... had she cut it with a sword? Again?

 

“My...my” Pink said, the words catching in her throat. Was Domina her diamond anymore? She had sent her away, had dismissed her. Domina stumbled forward and looked down at Pearl unsure, as if she had been the one that had messed up so thoroughly.

 

“I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have-”

 

“No Domina I hid so much from-”

 

“No no it’s ok... Really I understand I-” Domina’s face crumpled and she threw her arms around Pearl burying her face in her shoulder. “I’m sorry...I’m so sorry.” Pearl felt her eyes water as she hugged Domina close.

 

“Me too.”


	12. XII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so this chapter came out super duper late today and I am so sorry for that, work got crazy and I couldn't write fanfiction the whole time (this sounds like I'm joking and part of me wishes I was) So this chapter is on the short side but holds some elements that are going to come up in later ones. See if you can pick them out! 
> 
> So I hope you enjoy the chapter, keep an eye out for the second part of Veni Vidi Connie [(The Connieswap Omake)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/30871326) coming out wednesday, hopefully, if I can type fast enough, and for friday's chapter when we're going to do some talking.. so so much talking.
> 
> see you then!

This really was the last place Yellow Diamond wanted to be. The fact that she held a deep hatred for Earth was not a secret among, well anyone. Being essentially alone on it was not helping. Domina had returned from Pinks palanquin 3 hours ago with her traitorous pearl and promptly gone into her death trap of a ship to sleep. Yellow Diamond’s own Pearl had ‘stealthily’ slipped back into the human dwelling to speak with the other three pearls. 

 

Yellow Diamond herself was sitting outside the structure, back to her full size, looking up at the sky that had darkened as the planet entered it’s night cycle. She could see homeworlds galaxy from here along with several neighboring clusters, including her favorite of her personal colonies. All of it descended into chaos. What kind of state would it be in when they re-claimed it, if they re-claimed it?

 

She felt exhausted after all of this. Blue’s betrayal, the fight, the fleeing, finally figuring out what it was Domina had been keeping from her for the last year, the...the recording. 

 

“Hey uh...Yellow Diamond?” She glanced over to see the Quartz hybrid stepping out of the dwelling, looking at her roughly eye level from the platform it rested on. 

 

“Steven.” She replied, keeping in mind Domina’s insulting admonition that she ‘behave’, as if she was some kind of unruly quartz that needed to be reigned in by a superior.

 

“Are uh..” he glanced down and she followed his gaze to realize that she had ben generating electrical arcs across her fingers, idly. Yellow Diamond wiped the errant electricity away on her form. “Are you ok?”

 

“I don’t see how my well being is of any concern to you.” 

 

“Well you’re here and..you had a rough day too it sounds like.”

 

“And why would I discuss it with you?”

 

“Sometime talking it out helps... if you don’t want to though that’s fine though.” Steven hopped up onto the railing of the platform and sat turned towards her, swinging his legs. Yellow Diamond sighed, it was apparent he was going to go away.

 

“So um.. Are the Zircon’s ok?” Steven asked. Yellow Diamond blinked, that was not the question she had been expecting

 

“The Zircon’s?”

 

“The ones that you poofed at the trial.”

 

“That I p-...Why do you even care?” Yellow Diamond frowned, His mother had been incredibly persuasive. Was it possible that this Rose Quartz had turned another gem traitor with just a few moments of conversation? That certainly would explain Domina’s recent behavior. Steven hesitated and looked away from her, twiddling his fingers.

 

“Well you were really upset.”

 

“That Zircon accused me of shattering a fellow Diamond. Of course I was upset.” Yellow Diamond said. Even the memory of the incident was almost enough to make her seethe with rage.

 

“Right. Right,” Steven  looked down. “So are they...”

 

“Did I have them shattered? No.” Yellow diamond rolled her eyes. The Prosecuting Zircon had been demoted to one of the outer colonies. Yellow didn’t know what had happened to the defense and she didn’t particularly care.

 

“Oh thank goodness.” He mumbled putting his face in his hands. 

 

“Steven!” the Renegade Pearl called. “Time for bed.”

 

“Coming!” He called back, then looked up at Yellow Diamond. “I’ll uh... I’ll see you in the morning!” He said before running inside. Yellow Diamond frowned and glanced back at the ship, wondering exactly how long it was humans, or hybrids slept for.

 

****

 

There was something wonderful about waking up after sleeping for more than ten hours. The sleepy peace that fell over Domina before she moved her arm and was hit by a jolt of pain. 

Immediately the events of the previous day hit her. 

 

And she remembered that she was on earth. 

 

With Yellow Diamond. 

 

Shards. 

 

She had to think of something, a way to get in contact with the fleet again, a way to take back the empire, a way to keep the gems and Yellow Diamond from fighting. But first, she was hungry. 

 

Domina slid out of bed and pulled on a clean set of clothes, and exited the ship into late morning sunlight. Steven was sitting on porch railing, talking to a very annoyed looking Yellow Diamond. He grinned when he saw her step out of the Styx.

 

“Domina! Do you wanna go get donuts?” He called as her gently floated to the ground. Domina’s stomach grumbled.

 

“Donuts... I almost forgot about donuts,” She said then glanced briefly at the house and Yellow Diamond who was giving her a look that was bordering on disapproving but not quite there. Domina kicked herself up into the air but stopped as the world lurched around her and dropped back to the sand. Her mouth had gone dry all of the sudden, so she settled for an awkward smile. “We’ll be back!” She called up to her. Yellow rolled her eyes and waved them both off.

 

“Not like I haven’t waited long enough already.” She grumbled. 

 

The walk to the big donut was nice. Steven talked about how Lars and Sadie didn’t work there anymore and about the book Connie had leant him recently but nothing serious. Domina was thankful to not talk about serious subjects for a while. By the time they got back Yellow Diamond had shrunk once again and now followed her and Steven both into the beach house. Amethyst was hanging upside down on the couch next to Garnet who sat watching the door. All four pearls were clustered around the kitchen. Lapis and Peridot must have gone back to the barn while Domina had been asleep.

 

“So,we have a lot to discuss.” Domina said.

 

“We do.” Garnet looked over at the cluster of Pearls. “From multiple perspectives it seems.” Domina followed her gaze and saw Blue and Pink Pearl both staring at her. The wariness was more prevalent on her own Pearls face. Blue’s unseen gaze was simply... intense.

 

“So we do.”

 

“You can’t honestly be thinking about working with a group of rebels Domina.” Yellow Diamond hissed.

 

“If you haven’t noticed we are all kind of rebels at this point.” Domina said. Amethyst snorted. 

 

“Why exactly would any of us help you?” The Renegade Pearl asked. Domina frowned and looked at Steven, then at Garnet, then looked at Pearl, an idea was itching in the back of her head.

 

“Well you are as much at risk as we are really.” Domina said “Perhaps more so now that she knows you’re still alive.”

 

“True. We could instead refuse and concentrate on our own defenses.” Garnet said. There was a slight smile on her lips.

 

“You wouldn’t dare-” Yellow Diamond said. Domina held up a hand and recalled something her mother had said. Something that brought this whole situation full circle.

 

“Well one way or another the earth was going to have to be dealt with.” She said, she turned and nodded at Blue Pearl “And the new rebellion, from what I’ve gathered, has enough gems that something will have to be done there too.”

 

“What are you proposing?” Blue Pearl asked. Domina took a deep breath. 

 

“I’m willing to reopen negotiations.”


	13. XIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so busy week for me, didn't end up getting the next chapter of "Veni Vidi Connie" done but hopefully that will be coming soon. This chapter has been a long time coming and I hope you will understand after you read it exactly why this fic is shaping up to be absolutely massive. Please let me know what you think either here or over at the Tumblr  anon is enabled on both so feel free to give me what for. Thank you so much to everyone who had given me comments and kudos and those who have subscribed, every single one of them means so much to me.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I'll see you Monday.

Yellow Pearl had not been present for the initial negotiations for Earth. Her diamond was not known for being... diplomatic. So Yellow Pearl had waited on board the flagship, along with her diamond and Blue Pearl. 

 

White Diamond had stumbled back on board when negotiations had broken down, a shell shocked look on her face, Blue Diamonds warped gem in one hand, Pink Pearl’s gem in the other. From the look on her Diamond’s face the moment White Diamond had suggested reopening those negotiations, Yellow Pearl didn’t expect this time around to be any more successful. 

 

This White Diamond’s words had certainly made an impact however. White Pearl blinked in surprise and turned immediately to look at the permafusion. 

 

“Garnet do you really think...” White asked

 

“Domina you can’t be serious.” Yellow diamond said

 

“Yo someone one wanna fill in the people who aren’t like a million years old about what the heck you guys are talking about?” the off color amethyst asked from her place hanging upside down on the seat.

 

“the stuff my mom talked to your mom about right?” Steven asked, he had hopped up next to Amethysts swinging legs. Quartzes always did have a tendency to stick together.

 

“Yes.” White diamond said.

 

“White, I refuse to negotiate with these sorry excuses for gems.” Yellow Diamond said 

 

“Sitting right here.” The Amethyst interjected

 

“Well then Yellow, you can stay out of it.” White Diamond said evenly. She had retrieved her cracked visor and with flicking through the screens.

 

“What do you think Blue?” White asked. “You and your rebellion certainly have more at stake than we do.”

 

“It’s not my rebellion per say.” Blue said with a slight frown. Yellow snorted and rolled her eyes.

 

“You’re the one that’s been leading it.” Pink pointed out. “You and Jet.” 

 

“Jet was ten times more involved than I ever was.” Blue said.

 

“What happened to her?” White asked hesitantly.

 

“I wish I knew.” Blue said, then she raised her voice to speak to the rest of the group “I can speak for the new rebellion.” 

 

****

Domina felt herself relax. This could work this could actually work. 

 

“Excellent.” She said. She pulled up the section of notes she had taken on her mothers video that referred to the negotiations. Those were the only records of the even in the entirety of the empires database. “So what I have from the initial talks is that-”

 

“Pearl are you planning on doing your job?” Yellow Diamond cut her off. Yellow Pearl jolted back to attention, practically turning orange.

 

“Forgive me my Diamond I-”

 

“Yellow she’s fine-” Domina said, it was probably not a great idea to start ordering gems around when they were trying to come to an agreement. It didn’t take a diplomat to understand that.

 

“Don’t tell me how to treat my gems White.” 

 

“Do you seriously not have enough tact to read the fracking room.”

 

“Some of us actually know how to act like our gem type”

 

“I’m the only one of my ‘gem type’ unless you expect me to act like you or blue.”

 

“I expect you to act like a diamond your mother would have never-”

 

“My mother is the entire reason we’re stuck in this situation!”  Domina shouted, a gale burst through the house, knocking over anything that wasn’t nailed down, Rose Quartzes portrait over the door flapped against the wall before once again going still. Domina’s face went hot as she surveyed the mess she had caused. “Sorry.” She said sheepishly to the wide eyed group that had been watching their argument. 

 

“Hey... at least the TV didn’t get broken, that’s usually what happens when gem stuff happens in the house.” Steven said with a nervous grin. The Renegade pearl sighed and closed the cabinets that had flew open behind her.  Garnet removed a book from where it had landed on her afro.

 

“Steven can take notes, he needs to practice his gem anyway.” Garnet said. Stevens face lit up. 

“Right!” he said leaping up to his bedroom. He returned a moment later with a sheaf of paper and an object that was either a pencil or a pen. 

 

“Continue Domina.” Garnet said. Domina took a breath and regained control of her temper, out of the corner of her eye she could see her Pearl laying a comforting hand on Yellow Pearl who was looking highly uncomfortable with this whole situation.

 

“Notes from the initial talks.” Domina said listing them off on her fingers. “Relocating existing Homeworld loyalists, Seceding control of the planet and reversing damages done by the kindergartens.” 

 

“There will be additions.” Blue pearl said, Domina cut off Yellow’s scoff with a look and gave Blue Pearl a nod.

 

“I assumed as much, Steven ready to write them down?”

 

“Yep!” Steven said having just stopped writing. Attention turned to Blue Pearl. The gem sighed and gently moved her hair out of her face, revealing a glimpse of dark blue eyes, before her hair flopped back to cover them.

 

“I would request that control of the base in the Omega Quadrant be officially turned over to the rebellion.”

 

“Officially?” Domina asked confused “How long has it been held unofficially?” Blue pearl glanced at Pink who turned slightly red.

 

“A little over four thousand years.” she said. Domina blinked.

 

“Well then, what else?”    

 

“Safe passage for those wishing to flee to either the Earth or the station itself.” Blue said. The Renegade Pearl nodded.

 

“Alright anything else?”

 

“What about the zoo?” Steven piped up. Domina froze. Right. The Zoo.

 

“It’s definitely worth talking about,” She said even though it was the last thing she ever wanted talk about..

 

“What about the Cluster?” Yellow Diamond said finally chiming in.

 

“The Cluster’s ok, we bubbled it.” Steven piped up.

“You what?!”

 

“It’s not important right now, Yellow.” Domina said, that conversation could take an hour at the very least. “Anything else?” She asked.

 

“The corrupted gems.” Garnet said. 

 

“Right!” Steven said. “I’ve only been able to get so far healing them and some of them were Homeworld soldiers.”

 

“We’re not taking corrupted gems.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“They’re ours.” Domina replied “and the state they’re in is the Authority’s fault.”

 

“They were given orders.” 

 

“And not enough time for a full retreat, there was no confirmation that everyone was off.” Domina said firmly. Yellow scoffed and folded her arms. Domina turned to the rest of the group with a sigh. “Alright. We will take back Homeworld loyalists, and help as much as possible to cure the corruption-”

 

“It can’t be cured, it’s not supposed to be able to be cured.” Yellow Diamond cut in.

 

“Well has anyone tried?” Steven asked.

 

“No that-” Yellow Diamond rubbed her temple. “That’s not the point, the corruption is a last resort weapon. It’s not meant to be reversed.”

 

“We’ll give it our best shot.” Domina said firmly. Steven nodded. “The base and the Earth can easily be given up, considering its mostly a formality, and both can easily be made a no-fly-zone, except for those wishing to take refuge in either place, which I trust you want responsibility in handling anyway”  Domina walked over to Steven to look at what he had written down, his handwriting was surprisingly really good.

 

“As for the kindergartens, I don’t know that there’s much that we can do there. The compounds used in the old style injectors is really harsh.”

 

“It created better quality gems.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“It ruined planets that could have been put to better use.” Domina frowned, they had been having variations on the conversation for years.

 

“It is a problem that needs to be fixed, do you have a solution?” the Renegade pearl interjected.

 

“Well your Peridot sent me her notes on the agriculture her and Lapis have been attempting, I can give her and anyone else who wants it access to some information that might help.” Domina said. “It won’t be a complete recovery anytime soon but eventually.” The renegade nodded.

 

“Alright. I’ll take a copy of that as well.”

 

“Of course, and...the zoo.” Domina said.

 

“Both the humans and the bubbled Rose Quartzes.” Garnet said.

 

“Can’t we just bring the humans back to Earth?” Steven asked. Both Domina and the Renegade Pearl shook their heads rapidly.

 

“Their immune systems most likely wouldn’t be able handle the change. And the Earth of today is very different than it was five thousand years ago.” the Pearl said. Domina nodded.

 

“We could see if any of the Famethyst has any ideas” Amethyst said flipping over after a mid air spin dash.

 

“Famethyst?”

 

“Yeah the gems from the Earth kindergartens, they’re hanging out at the zoo now.” Amethyst said. 

 

“They’re Quartzes, you can’t expect-”

 

“We’ll see about getting in contact with them.” Domina cut Yellow off again and received another glare from her fellow Diamond. “As for the Rose Quartzes there’s not any reason I can think of that they should remain bubbled.” She looked at Yellow Diamond. “Is there?”  Yellow frowned.

 

“No.” She muttered.Domina nodded satisfied. 

 

“Excellent, if thats it?” Domina asked. The group nodded. “Well then, in return you’ll help us take back Homeworld?” She glanced between Blue Pearl and Garnet.

 

“We will,” Blue Pearl said. Garnet nodded.

 

“Then we have a deal.”


	14. XIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! So chapters of this fic will be going up on tumblr now so if you want to follow me  here  then you can get them... at roughly the same time actually. Special thanks to Squish13 who actually read this chapter a head of time to catch my grammar and spelling nonsense. Squish writes the fantastic  Golden Universe  which you should totally check out cause it's awesome.
> 
> I'll see everyone Friday!

“Our most successful chance would be to meet up with the existing rebellion.” White said pacing in front of a blackboard. Pink Pearl could see Yellow Diamond rolling her eyes in the back of the room, closest to the door. Yellow Pearl was standing against the wall near her, still tense after the momentary argument earlier. Blue Pearl was sitting next to her on the couch on the other side from Domina who was leaning back into her gently like she used to when she was much younger. 

 

“Getting in contact will be difficult after all this.” Blue Pearl said. “Especially as I assume that we’re trying to avoid drawing attention from Blue Diamond.”

 

“Uh yeah, no duh.” Amethyst said earning a disapproving look from White.

 

“The lower frequencies should still be safe.” Pink said, idly combing her fingers through Domina’s hair, she had completely butchered it yet again. “And they do already know to expect transmissions via wailing stones.”

 

“Wailing stones? No ones used those in 5000 years.” Domina said turning to look at her.

 

“Well yeah and us like every couple weeks.” Amethyst said. 

 

“We don’t check for wailing stone transmissions?” Yellow Diamond asked with a glance at Yellow Pearl.

 

“Er, no my diamond. You said that time spent scanning for them could be used more productively elsewhere.” Yellow Pearl said nervously. Yellow Diamond went temporarily orange and rubbed her temples.

 

“Right.” She said. Amethyst snickered. Domina hid a grin. 

 

“Well there no way The Styx will make it to the Omega Quadrant.” Domina said. White frowned.

 

“It’s moved again I assume?”

 

“It’s been moved several times White.” Pink said. The warp pad jumped to life and Peridot and Lapis Lazuli appeared.

 

“Steven informed me that a important Crystal Gem meeting was taking place, why wasn’t I told earlier!” the Peridot said folding her arms.

 

“I was busy taking notes, sorry Peridot!” Steven said. Lapis hopped up to sit on the edge of the loft. White rolled her eyes. Peridot opened her mouth to reply only to realize that Yellow Diamond was glaring daggers from the back. 

 

“Well uh.. That’s fine. Do we really need to be here? I’m sure me and Lapis won’t be able to provide anything worthwhile to-”

 

“We’re not going anywhere any time soon Peridot.” Domina said. “Besides Yellow will behave.”

 

“I do not need to be told to behave, I am not some sort of Agate.” Yellow said sharply. 

 

“You’re absolutely right.” Domina said. “I’ve never had to tell any of my Agates to behave.”

 

“Oh snap!” Amethyst crowed. Yellow Diamond seethed and Pink Pearl would have laughed if it wasn’t for the fact the idea of being stuck on a planet with a pissed of diamond was terrifying.  Domina’s smug smirk slid off her face at the warning look Pink gave her. 

 

“Sorry. That was rude.” Domina apologized, rubbing the ridge on her arm where her cast disturbed the fabric of her shirt. Yellow Diamond seemed startled out of her anger and gave Domina a look Pink couldn’t quite read. Yellow Pearl was giving Pink the same look that she had given her millenia ago during Yellow’s first meeting with Domina. That look that asked what in star’s name was wrong with her Diamond. As always Pink met it with a shrug.

****

Yellow Diamond added ‘Constant reminders that Domina is organic’ to her list of reasons to hate the Earth. It was needlessly long and did her no good, but it wasn’t like she had anything else to do. 

 

White Diamond wouldn’t have apologized, then again she also would have shattered the pearl standing at the front of the room the moment she had laid eyes on her. Steven quickly brought the traitorous Peridot up to speed about they’re discussion and finally the Renegade Pearl brought back the conversation that had been interrupted.

 

“What are the range capabilities of a roaming eye?” She asked.

 

“Not that far,” 5XG said. “The distance between here and homeworld is as far as it would be capable without time to recharge.”  The pearl rubbed the setting of her gem. 

 

“How much farther is the Omega Quadrant?” Steven asked, why a quartz had any interest in this kind of thing was a mystery to her.

 

“If your bed was Earth,” Domina said “and... where the Styx is, that’s Homeworld. Then the Omega quadrant would be roughly where” She paused then looked at the Permafusion. “What's the name of the planet within the asteroid belt outside this solar system?”

 

“Pluto.” the Permafusion supplied.

 

“Then the Omega quadrant is roughly where Pluto is.” She finished. Steven’s mouth dropped open. “Can we build a ship?” Domina asked. 

 

Yellow Diamond blinked, she couldn’t be serious. 

 

“I suppose it’s possible theoretically...” The peridot  rubbed her chin.

 

“We built the drill.” The Permafusion said with a shrug.

 

“There’s no way any of you are capable of designing and building a ship that can make that kind of trip.” Yellow Diamond said. The Renegade rolled her eyes and continued talking, stars she realized why Pearls were better seen than heard. 

 

“Really the problem we’re going to have with anything we build is the strength,” Domina said, the Pearl had written down some kind of list in some unreadable script. “I don’t suppose there is any chance there’s a reformation orb somewhere on this planet is there?” 

 

“Not that we’ve come across.” The Permafusion said.

 

“Could there be one on the moonbase?” The Lapis Lazuli had taken up an elevated position near the Quartz Hybrid, Yellow Diamond had no doubt she was acting as some kind of guard. What had Blue been thinking, allowing a Lapis anywhere near this planet’s quadrant? Especially  _ this _ Lapis.

 

“The moonbase is still functional?” Domina asked sitting up from where she had practically been laying on her pearl.

 

“Not as such the console was... smashed, a little.” Peridot 5XG said. 

 

“What?” Yellow Diamond’s attention snapped back to the conversation.

 

“Yeah.. that day P-dot called you a clod, there was a whole thing, I turned into a helicopter for a bit.” The Amethyst drawled. It took all of Yellow Diamond’s strength not to destabilize the entire room. She could see her Pearl take a long step away from her.

 

“It’s not the worst that’s ever happened to one of those things.” Domina said, her voice maybe a bit too cheery, she looked at Yellow Diamond with almost a conspiratorial air. “Remember that one on the jungle moon, it’s a surprise the whole structure hasn’t collapsed yet.”  It wasn’t a shout to ‘control herself’ but the implication was clear enough. Yellow Diamond just frowned in response and leaned back against the wall, electricity having finally stopped arcing from her fingertips. 

 

“There’s not a reformation orb on the moon base.” Domina’s Pearl said, she would know. “Though the power system might be salvageable.” 

 

“That's a good point,” The renegade made a note of it.

 

“A reformation orb is the thing that fixed Domina’s ship the last time, right?” Steven asked.

 

“Yes. Though now that I think about it reprogramming those things is nearly impossible.” Domina said with a shake of her head.

 

“Are they on all Diamond ships?” Steven asked. Domina nodded.

 

“What about that drop ship, P?” Amethyst asked “Like can we jump it and use that?”

 

“If you want to make that trip over the course of the next five million years.” Peridot said. The Amethyst huffed and swung back around to hang upside down.

****

The conversation carried on in almost a circular way eventually boiling down to ‘let’s just collect a bunch of parts that will help and we’ll make it up as we go along.’ And surprisingly Domina felt ok with that. It was at least some semblance of a plan. They had just decided to make for the moon base the next day when there was the sound of a combustion engine outside.

 

“Holy Fuuuuc-fudge.. Fudge.” A woman’s voice said loudly. Domina saw the    
Renegade go paler than she thought was possible. 

 

“Steven!!!” Connie’s voice drifted in followed by the thudding of feet coming up the stairs. Connie opened the screen door with her shoulder, still staring outside at the Styx. “Where did that space ship come from?” She asked before turning to look at the room and her mouth dropped open.

 

“Connie!” Domina said with a grin “You cut your hair!”


	15. XV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't know what happened to this chapter clap your hands *clap clap* If you don't know what happened to this chapter clap your hands *clap clap* If you had such high hopes and they all fell apart and your super embarrassed that it turned out like this clap your hands! *clap clap*
> 
> So This chapter is short, and doesn't really do what I wanted it to, but Monday's should, no, WILL be longer as we start to dive into the important stuff for this arc. In other news I wrote up a 'Vulgaris Adamas Abridged' Document which you can find [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/194mde_Nuxpj4z2Ytebuuz1cWaNtxc7nkDn93iO77Wis/edit?usp=sharing) if you want a quick refresher about the general story line or if for some reason you've been reading this fic without having read the others (and if you have props to you!)
> 
> Thank you everyone who has been reading this fic and commenting. and once again I am sorry for how this turned out but I hope what comes next makes up for it.
> 
> see you monday!

Before Connie could respond to Domina, a woman with pink hair appeared in the door behind her with a brown paper bag on her hip.

 

The woman’s face matched Connie’s surprise. She glanced at each gem in turn before finally settling on the Renegade Pearl, who had gone from incredibly pale to just a smidge lighter than Blue Pearl.

 

“Uh, Hey All.” She said.

 

“Hello Sabina.” the Renegade said.

 

“Sup Bina. Sup Connie.” Amethyst said, still upside down. Garnet nodded

 

“Greetings neighbor! And fellow Crystal temp.” Peridot said, Lapis waved. 

 

“Um.. hi. Good to see you again Domina, what are you doing here, and is your arm in a cast?“ Connie asked. Domina nodded.

 

“It’s a long story on both accounts,”

 

“So uh.. Sorry to just drop in.” Sabina addressed the renegade specifically “If this is a bad time we can-”

 

“No no we were done mostly!” Steven said hopping over to the two of them. 

 

“Oh alright,” Sabina said, she passed Steven and set her bag down in the kitchen “I was going to offer to cook um.. If that’s cool with you Pearl.” The renegade nodded, still bright blue. Amethyst snickered. 

 

“So I’m assuming your Pearl’s Amica?” Domina asked standing up, she could see packages of food in the bag.

 

“I’m going to say probably?” Sabina said, Domina crept closer to watch what she was pulling out of the bag, a pink package that Domina assumed was some kind of meat, Green and red fruits, something that she was pretty sure was called a tortilla.

 

“What are you doing?” Yellow Diamond asked from her spot where she had been remarkably silent while Steven gave the two recent arrival’s a rundown of the recent events. Domina froze.

  
  


“Nothing!” She said quickly, Sabina smirked.

 

“Your White Diamond or whatever right?” she asked “Steven said you’re half human, do you like tacos?”

 

“I... maybe?” She said after a moments deliberation. 

 

“Sweet, so.” She turned to look at the remainder of the people in the room “Who are all the rest of you?” She asked. 

 

“Oh well Sabina, this is Blue, Yellow, and Pink Pearl and over there is Yellow Diamond.” The Renegade said she was gesturing nervously. Domina could see Yellow Diamond’s fist clench when she was introduced last. 

 

“Oh aight, nice to meet you all I’m Sabina, Pearl’s girlfriend,” She said. The renegades face obviously couldn’t get any more blue, even after the human kissed her cheek in front of everyone. “Er well this Pearl.” Domina was pretty sure that Yellow Diamond’s eyes were permanently stuck in the ‘rolled’ position.

 

“Really White?” Yellow Pearl said.

 

“She does have a type.” Blue Pearl’s voice was soft but Domina could tell there was a small amount of mirth in it.

 

“Yeah she does!” Amethyst said with a wide grin. Domina saw Sabina’s eyes drift from the gems to the painting above the door, her smile faded slightly.

 

“Alright alright, leave them alone.” Garnet said, though the fusion also had a small smile. 

 

“Sooo,” Connie said in an effort to pull the conversation from her incredibly embarrassed mentor. “Domina why didn’t you let Steven heal your arm. 

 

“You didn’t?” Pearl asked her whipping her head around. Apparently her efforts to figure out what exactly a taco was were not going to be allowed to continue in peace.

 

“No I was... worried about other things.” Domina said. “It’ll heal fine on it’s own.”

 

“Domina.”

 

“I didn’t want to be a bother...”

 

“It’s ok Domina if you want me to I can give it a try.

 

“But-”

 

“Domina.”

 

“Fine” Domina sighed and held her arm out to Steven. 

 

Several moist minutes later the cast dissolved into pink dust which Domina shook into the trash can, slightly unnerved that the pain was gone so quickly. She saw Yellow Diamond watch these proceedings with the same expression she had worn everytime Domina’s injury had been brought up, and when the cast was finally disposed of and Domina tested her newly healed arm the diamond left the room leaving the screen door to slam behind her.

 

Yellow Pearl looked after her Diamond, then back at Domina with a questioning look. Domina sighed and went after her.

 

Yellow was halfway down the beach by the time Domina exited the beach house. Domina jumped up on the railing, meaning to cut the distance in half, that was until she looked down. 

 

The height was maybe 30 feet from the railing to the sand below. She had landed farther falls without using her powers to cushion the air. Despite knowing that, Domina could swear she felt the blood pounding through her veins, Her stomach churned and her vision swam. She took a step back, onto the deck and went down the stairs, slowly as the fear akin to what she had felt from Blue Diamonds attack faded. 

 

Finally she was on solid ground, Yellow Diamond was several yards ahead of her, where she was going Domina didn’t know. But she took off after her, gritting her teeth to ignore the throbbing in her arm, and the worry nagging the back of her mind.

****

“So is practice canceled this week?” Connie asked Pearl moments after Yellow Diamond and Domina had left the beach house. Pink Pearl could feel that the mood had lightened considerably.

 

“We’ll make time for it Connie I-” Pearl started only to be opened by the door opening again.

 

“Hey Greg.” Sabina said without looking up from chopping vegetables. The man that now stood in the doorway was bald with a beard and had discoloration on his skin similar to what Vitus had had. Pink Pearl assumed this must be Steven’s human father. 

 

“Hey-.” Greg said then looked at the assembled group “Well I was going to ask if I just saw Domina walking down the beach with Yellow Diamond but I guess the answer is-” He stopped when he noticed Blue Pearl. Blue Pearl stared back at him. “Uh... hey... again.” He said

 

“How...” Blue Pearl started before trailing off. Another moment of awkward silence was broken by the two simultaneously snapping their fingers and pointing at each other.

 

“So uh... What’s going on?” Greg asked.

  
  



	16. XVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh goodness where to start. Well lets begin with an apology, the opening notes for chapter 15 were maybe a little over dramatic, I wasn't having a good day and I'm calmed down, Thanks to all the wonderful people that assured me that the chapter was ok.
> 
> In other news while I was on the local blackhole known as TVtropes.com I discovered that some wonderful person has made a TVtropes page for [ Vulgaris Adamas](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/VulgarisAdamas). I will not lie, I almost cried, this is the coolest thing that has ever happened to me. 
> 
> Thank you everyone who leaves kudos and to those that take the time to leave wonderful comments.
> 
> I'll see you next time.

Family was a human concept that Domina always assumed she would never truly grasp. When her father had still been alive he had talked about the family that was left behind on Earth over 4000 years ago. His voice never failed to give out as he spoke about his mother, his father, his sisters and brothers. 

 

Gem’s didn’t have family though. The closest thing Domina ever had was her father and maybe Pearl if you were being particularly loose with the term.

 

Seeing Steven interact with not only the Crystal Gems but also Connie, Greg, and Sabina redefined it for her. Her father had never used the term ‘family’ to describe the gentle teasing that went on, the genuine interest in each others lives, the care for each others safety. But this had to be what he meant right?

 

Also tacos were delicious. 

 

The evening faded, Lapis and Peridot took off back to the barn, Connie and Sabina went home,Greg following them after an encouraging pat to Domina’s shoulder and an awkward nod to Yellow Diamond. And soon enough the next day dawned and the group divided. Domina, Yellow Diamond, her pearl, the Renegade Pearl and Steven would actually make the trip to the moon. The rest would stay behind and attempt to contact the rebellion.

 

“Sure you don’t want to come with us?” Domina asked Pearl. Pearl was reorganizing the medical supplies while Domina quickly made sure there was actually going to be space for everyone. 

 

“Quite sure.” Pearl snapped the box back into position over the bunk opposite of the one Domina was smoothing out. “I’d rather not revisit the moon base if it’s all the same to you.” Her words blurred together and stopped before she could say ‘my diamond’. They needed to talk about everything still. Though Domina certainly didn’t want to bring it up.

 

“Of course, of course,” Domina said quickly. “I don’t really blame you, I’m not looking forward to this. I’m almost positive the renegade is still irritated with me and Yellow has been...” Domina sighed. Pearl set a hand on her shoulder.

 

“White will eventually blow herself out, and as for Yellow Diamond...” Pearl trailed off, Domina looked at her, expecting her to say something, anything really. Instead Pearl patted her shoulder. “Good luck.”

 

****

It was like everything that happened in the last few days was fighting for the chance to be the worst thing ever. Visiting Pink’s moonbase though? That might have the bump that fracked the ruby’s crack. Yellow Diamond sat on one of the beds towards the back of the ship, attempting to ignore Domina trying to teach the Quartz Hybrid to fly her death trap of a ship, along with the Renegade Pearl’s squawking.

 

“Steven no you need to watch your thrust!” 

 

“He’s fine, just ease off the throttle a bit.”

 

“Um guys, is that light supposed to be flashing?”

 

“It’s fine it’ll turn off in a second, now pull off completely and just hit that button for the landing cycle when the door opens.” Domina turned from the screen and busied herself with some menial task as the ship landed. That was another thing, Domina had been acting off the last few days, normally Yellow barely saw her walk, but lately she hadn’t even been floating, something to do with her injury perhaps? Though Steven had healed it... 

 

The door to the ship opened onto the ground floor. Yellow Diamond stepped out first. It was dark and pristine. Pearl stepped out slightly behind her, illuminating the wall bearing her mural with her gem. The silence was broken by Steven leaping through the air.

 

“Woohoo!” He cheered as he gently floated to the the ground and then rocketed back up.

 

“Really Steven, you don’t need to be on a planet with a lower gravitational pull to do that anymore.” The renegade Pearl called.

 

“I know but it’s still fun-”

 

“Frack!” Domina shouted, Yellow Diamond whipped around to see, thankfully that she had just tripped and was ungracefully scrambling to right herself while floating in mid air.

 

“Really Domina.” She said with a sigh. The other diamond eventually managed to pull herself up by grabbing on to the ship. 

 

“What? Not all of us adjust automatically to the local gravity.” She muttered, then looked around at the murals. “Ah.. the old ones.” She said quickly moving her illumination from the mural of her mother to the one of Pink Diamond.

 

“Let's be quick about this.” Yellow Diamond said with a frown walking over to the stairs, they activated and began to shift, underlit with a pale yellow light. The stairs opened up onto the middle floor and Yellow Diamond paused briefly. The sphere was still there. And more importantly it was still recording. How in star’s name was it still recording.

 

“Oh wow, we haven’t used these in centuries.” Domina said delicately stepping off the stairs and flailing to regain her balance.

 

“What is it?” Steven asked.

 

“It’s not what we’re here for.” The renegade said and though she wouldn’t admit it Yellow was inclined to agree with her. 

 

“It’s a Colonization Sphere, they’re in all the moon bases to record transmissions, along with colony plans, warp network logs  and, all kinds of other stuff.” Domina said oblivious to Yellow Diamonds irritation. “This one’s still on though, I wonder if it’s connected to the local geode.” She reached up to touch it.

 

“Leave it alone!” Yellow Snapped. Domina jolted back from the sphere and spun, or rather attempted to spin, to look at her. She looked irritated but nodded after a moment,and very carefully walked back to the stairs. Yellow Diamond actually felt herself relax,  a outburst like that would have never slid by with White. But Domina wasn’t White. 

 

****

All Diamond bases were built on the same schematic, even the ones that the fleet set up during the preliminary building phase. Nowadays though, they all came with gravity regulators. Domina felt sick, she hated being in minimal gravity under normal circumstances, but she couldn’t even fly to avoid it. 

 

The top floor of the moon base was the control room, even that hadn’t changed that much, though normally the chair was much bigger, and console wasn’t completely smashed. Yellow Diamond seemed to be ignoring that part of the room and instead looked over the floor for the access panel to the generator. She found it a few moments later and the piece rotated into the room. 

 

“Woah.” Steven said. “It kind of looks like the Crystal Heart.” He said.

 

“The what?”

 

“It’s a thing in the temple.” Steven said with a shrug. Domina looked at the Renegade instead. 

 

“A geo ther-”She began

 

“It’s a geothermal power source that can rectify dimensional inconsistencies and hold them in relative unison to a singular access point.” Yellow Diamond cut the pearl off from where she was carefully looking over the power system, “I designed them a few thousand years before you were born.” 

 

“You designed it?!” Steven asked “That’s cool!” Yellow Diamond stopped and looked at Steven with a blank expression before turning to her Pearl. “I need a molecular seperator.” Yellow Pearl blinked.

 

“My Diamond, I apologize I don’t have one with me,” She said.

 

“There’s one on the ship,” Domina said. “I’ll show you.” though she wasn’t relishing the climb back down the stairs.

 

“Get it.” Yellow Diamond said, plainly ignoring the renegades irritated look. Yellow Pearl bowed and practically ran out of the room. Domina followed, doing her best to ignore the churning of her stomach. Thankfully she could close her eyes and carefully float most of the way down.

 

“I could have found it myself White Diamond,” Yellow Pearl said. Domina shook her head.

 

“It’s fine, besides this chest is a mess, Pearl stays out of it most of the time.” She searched through her tools,the molecular separator always fell to the bottom. “She told me that if I was going to complain when she reorganized it then I could take care of it myself.” Domina said with a laugh. Yellow Pearl looked at her in shock.

 

“You...I’m sorry, you let her...” Yellow Pearl trailed off, as if she wasn’t sure exactly how to phrase it.

 

“Talk to me like that?” Domina prompted, the pearl nodded. “Yes, though I mean, it’s not like she does very often,” Domina handed over the seperator. “Do you want me to tell Yellow to stop ordering you around?” She asked hesitantly “I’ve been meaning too, she needs to be careful.. And she can be a little ridiculous, I mean where were you supposed to get a molecular separator if I didn’t have one?” Yellow Pearl shrank back from her.

 

“It’s my job,” She said. “No disrespect intended my diamond but I am capable of dealing with her... moods,” Domina snorted slightly.

 

“That's the nice way of putting it. Alright I’ll stay out of it, just.. let me know, She decides to listen to me every once in a while.” She said. Yellow Pearl Nodded and saluted her, then stopped when she saw Domina’s frown. “You don’t have to salute me.” She said.

 

“I...” Yellow Pearl sighed. “Yes White Diamond, Thank you for your assistance.”

 

“Anytime.” Domina said. Yellow Pearl raced up the stairs and Domina began her shaky ascent. She entered the Sphere’s room again and paused. Yellow had told her to leave it alone, but, She could hear the sound of the supports on the generator being seperated. They wouldn’t need her until it was time to go back. She could take a look through the Colony’s logs. This kind of information wouldn’t be available in the empires databases anyway. 

 

Domina reached out and touched the sphere. Like all Homeworld technology it was smooth to the touch for the brief moment before it began to glow white along geometric patterns in the surface. A screen appeared in the far side of the room, taking of the whole wall. Domina scrolled through the information idly, before finally landing on ‘Transmissions’. There were only a few recorded entries and Domina opened up the first one. 

 

The screen changed to show the control room, tinted by a pink light. A gem, about the size of a jasper, with wild unkempt hair wearing puffed sleeves leaned on the console with her knees on the chair behind her. On her stomach was a clearly visible diamond.

 

“Testing one two three, Homeworld can you hear me!?!” 

  
  



	17. XVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! early chapter today. Interactions with the Diamonds seem to just write themselves 
> 
> If you like reading about updates on this fic or give me little prompts then I will once again point you to my tumblr domina-alba.tumblr.com. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone leaving comments as always, if you have any questions about the fic then always feel free to ask.
> 
> See you guys monday!

For all the talk about Pink Diamond throughout her life, Domina had never actually seen a picture of the gem. The first thing that came to her mind of course was: ‘She looks nothing like her mural.’ Not that that meant anything, the murals were just propaganda, the one for White Diamond hadn’t even changed when Domina had been born.

 

The pink screen was joined a few moments later by a similarly sized blue screen, arranging itself automatically in the configuration of the old diamond authority symbol. Blue Diamond appeared on screen, though she looked different. Her hair was dark blue and didn’t loop in the front and most of all she was smiling.

 

“Oh Pink, Excellent they finally got the communication array set up.”

 

“Yeah they did!” Pink Diamond said, “And the warp network’s set up and the Morganite said that the first Amethysts’ll start emerging next month!”

 

“Well it sounds like everything is going perfectly!” Blue Diamond said, her voice was practically gushing. A yellow screen appeared the left of Blue Diamond’s.

 

“Pink What are you doing? This line is for emergencies only!” Yellow Diamond said,her outfit was lacking the distinctive shoulder pads. Instead she looked like she was wearing some sort of jacket with rounded shoulders and a high collar. Pink Diamond pouted.

 

“I just wanted to talk, This is the first time I’ve been able to call you guys.”

 

“Then send a message,”

 

“Yellow she was excited,”

 

“Yes well I was working, White won’t appreciate being interrupted either.” Yellow Diamond said with an arched eyebrow. Blue rolled her eyes.

 

“Yellow, White won’t mind. This is Pink’s first colony.”

 

“And she should be taking it seriously!”

 

“I am taking it seriously!” Pink Diamond protested “Like super duper seriously!”

 

“Ugh this was a mistake.” Yellow Diamond pinched the bridge of her nose.

 

“No it wasn’t your just being a grump like always!” Pink Diamond flopped back into her chair and crossed her arms

 

“I am not!”

 

“Are too” 

 

“Am NOT!” A white screen appeared above the other three as White Diamond appeared.

 

“What is going on?” She asked. White Diamonds face was characteristically blank, the rest of her form was the traditional one Domina had seen in the handful of videos she had found. Pointed shoulders, not unlike Yellow’s current form, Her hair was swept back and up, and her entire form shimmered, not just with white but with shifting colors, like looking into a prism. Domina self consciously looked down at the mottled skin of her hands.

 

Back on screen Blue reeled back in surprise, Yellow smirked and folded her arms, Pink grinned set both hands on the console and pushed herself towards the screen.

 

“Hey White!!! The communications thingy is working!” Pink Diamond said. White Diamond raised an eyebrow and smiled. Not much of one really, more of a quirk of the lips then a true smile. Yellow Diamonds smirk faded.

 

“Excellent.” White Diamond said. “I will be expecting regular updates from now on Pink.” Pink Diamond beamed

 

“I won’t let you down!” She said. 

 

“I know you won’t.” White Diamond said. “By the way your Pearl will be ready within the week, I’ll be expecting mine back,”

 

“Awesome! Should I reset yours?” Pink Diamond asked, she had hopped down from the chair entirely and was bouncing slightly. Domina’s fists balled.

 

“No don’t bother, I haven’t decided how I’ll have her reform.” White Diamond said waving off the younger diamond. “Now I believe you all have other tasks to attend too?” She said looking at the other two diamond. “Blue how go the negotiations with that civilization beyond the Theta Quadrant?”

 

“Surprisingly well, our reputation has preceded us.” Blue Diamond said. She still wore a slight smile but there was a tension there now. “This may be solved without excessive bloodshed.”

 

“Good, all the same Yellow have troops on standby and I need updates on the modified AB Warp Metric as soon as possible.”

 

“Yes of course.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“Pink take careful notes on any difficulties in your colonies establishment, we’ll go over them on our way to the Omega quadrant next century.”

 

“I will!” Pink Diamond said with a nod that Domina thought might have been in imitation of the one given from Yellow moments before. White Diamond nodded to her fellows and her screen collapsed. Blue gave a relieved sigh and Yellow frowned at a smug looking Pink.

 

“I knew she wouldn’t be mad.”

 

“You got off easy, remember yourself Pink, You’re a Diamond. Act like it.” Yellow said. Pink Diamond stuck her tongue out.

 

“Your just jealous!”

 

“Why you little-” Yellow Diamond Started before she stopped and composed herself after receiving a warning look from Blue. “I don’t have time for this, Don’t interrupt me again Pink.” She said before her screen collapsed. Blue Diamond sighed.

 

“Call if you need anything Pink.” Blue Diamond said.

 

“I will!” Pink Diamond said with a smile before the image froze as the recording ended. Domina stood in silence for a moment. There was a lot there. And it was too quiet.

 

“Was that Pink Diamond?” Stevens voice asked. Domina spun around to see the rest of her group clustered at the stairs, Steven was shocked, the Renegade looked horribly uncomfortable behind her hand cupped over her mouth and Yellow... Yellow Diamond was livid.

 

“I told you to leave it alone!” She spat stepping off the stairs.  

 

“You did, though I’m not sure why. So what, Pink Diamond was overcooked? It’s not like I have any room to talk about diamonds being shaped weird.”

 

“There was nothing wrong with Pink!”

 

“Like slag there wasn’t!” Domina’s attempt to hold her ground against Yellow’s approaching tirade was offset by her wild gestures sending her drifting backwards anyway.

 

“Why can’t you just do as your told, This, going to earth in the first place, keeping the whole shards cursed incident a secret from Blue?!”

 

“She was going to blame you! You really think that whole mess in the citadel was going to change much if I hadn’t?” 

 

“You don’t know that! You acted impulsively!”

 

“I was trying to keep you safe.” Domina forced the air to keep her still.

 

“Guy’s guys!” Steven said landing in between them. “You don’t have to fight it’s-” 

 

“Stay out of this Rose Quartz” Yellow said shoving Steven to the side where he continued to coast towards the wall. Less than a millisecond later there was a spear at Yellow Diamond’s back.

 

“You keep your hands off of him.” The renegade said lowly.

 

“You dare to-” Yellow Diamond started only to be cut off by a rush of wind and White Diamond appearing less than a foot from her face.

 

“Let’s get this straight. If you harm steven or anyone else here. I will bubble you and figure out what to do with you after this is all over. And you will not get a say in what happens to you or Blue.” White Diamond said, tension held her as straight as a beam. All thoughts of how far the ground was below her were temporarily gone and replaced by cold rage. “Understand?” 

 

****

There had been attempts to deprogram hoarding behavior out of quartzes practically since their first creation. Nothing had ever worked, not without removing their ability to bond and create a cohesive fighting force.  So most of that behavior was kept in check, like many things, by agates. When a quartz didn’t have an Agate however, you ended up with the situation that Blue Pearl was currently wading through with Pink and Amethyst.

 

“How do you find anything in this?” Pink asked stepping gingerly around a teetering pile of wheeled objects.

 

“I have a system.” Amethyst said. “Wailing stones are over this way.” She ducked around a corner of furniture.Sure enough as the trio rounded the corner a veritable mountain of wailing stones came into view. 

 

“Why...” Blue Pearl said staring up at the pile.

 

“Eh, felt like it. A lot of them are broken I guess but there’s gotta be at least one good one in here.” Amethyst drew her weapon and lassoed a likely suspect from the pile, somehow managing to yank it free without destabilizing the whole thing. “So why won’t the normal one work?” 

 

“It’s not powerful enough.” Pink inspected some of the stones at the bottom. “Last time you were only transmitting to homeworld.”

“Aight, makes sense.” Amethyst said, carefully stacking the rejects off to one side. It took 30 minutes to find the right Wailing Stone, which Amethyst carried back to the temple door. 

 

“Omega Base seven dot nine three two.” Pink said into the transmission field after Blue had set it up. “This is Sodalite 7BD and Hackmanite 6WD transmitting to confirm the channels security.” The code names had been Jet’s idea. And if there was anytime to use them. That would be now. 

 

The transmission yielded nothing but static for a few moments. Then there was a sudden shuffling and a Pearl’s voice voice came over the wailing stone.

 

“Oh my star’s! Pi- I mean uh, this is Pyrope uh... shoot I can’t remember. The channels secure, this is Red Pearl, You and Blue are there Pink?” Pink smiled at Blue and gestured for her to take her place. Blue did so, entering the field. 

 

“Yes we are it’s good to hear from you Red, what is happening out there?” Blue asked.

 

“It’s not good, we uh.. We thought you were shattered or worse. We keep getting refugee’s there was some kind of purge on homeworld, every gem who doesn’t fit the grade is apparently being rounded up. We haven’t heard from anyone in the fleet, from what Feldspars been able to tell it’s almost been completely wiped out.” Out beyond the fringe of her bangs Blue could see Pink going pale. 

 

“Well that’s not good.” Amethyst muttered.

 

“Has anyone heard from Jet?” Blue asked.

 

“No, no sign of her, unless she’s the one taking out warp networks in the outer quadrents.” Red said. Garnet frowned and adjusted her glasses.

 

“No that's not her, it’s someone else.”

 

“Who?” Pink asked.

 

“I...I’m not sure. I don’t have enough information.”

 

“Any good news?” Blue asked

 

“Mauve made it back, I guess her companants wound up on the same transport and they made a break for it.” Red said. “What do we do now?”

 

“We’ve made contact with the Crystal Gems.” Blue Pearl said. “We have...also struck a deal with the two other members of the diamond authority.”

 

“What.”

 

“We’re as surprised as you are.” Amethyst said.

 

“You know they can’t actually hear you right?” Pink asked.

 

“Yeah, it’s called commentary, it’s the best part.”

 

“We have negotiated a truce, provided we help them retake homeworld they are willing to leave us alone.” Blue said.There was silence on the other end. 

 

“That wasn’t the plan Blue.” Red finally said, she didn’t sound angry just.. resigned. Blue Pearl thought back to the speeches she had made about change, she wondered if Pink was thinking the same thing. Was simply being left alone enough?

 

“This is just the beginning.” Blue said firmly. She thought she saw Garnet smile ever so slightly “We’ll be in touch, stay safe.”


	18. XVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh I need to get better about getting my Monday chapters up earlier. Thanks to everyone who has left lovely comments and thanks to [Squish13 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Squish13/pseuds/Squish13)for betaing everything except this note.
> 
> As always feel free to talk to me here or over on the [Tumblr ](https://domina-alba.tumblr.com/)
> 
> see you Friday!

Reorganizing and taking stock of supplies was something Domina knew Pearl usually did. But it wouldn’t hurt to do it again. She needed to do something to occupy herself, to avoid looking at the approaching ground outside. She had asked the Renegade to fly under the pretense of not knowing where the barn was. A blatant lie that earned her a confused look from Steven. Domina moved to refold her clothes and saw Yellow Diamond staring at the power source they had retrieved from the moon. They hadn’t spoken since their argument. Domina sighed, might as well start now.

 

“Something wrong with it?” She asked moving closer to where Yellow was sitting on the bench across from the engine room. The Diamond didn’t look at her.

 

“Other than it being several millennia out of date, no, it works perfectly. Should be able to power whatever kind of monstrosity we manage to cobble together, shortly before the whole thing falls apart in the planets upper atmosphere.”

 

“We’ll make it work.” Domina said. Yellow Diamond snorted.

 

“If you say so.”

 

“Is that what a ‘barn’ is supposed to look like?” Yellow Pearl asked from where she was standing towards the front of the ship.

 

“I mean, not really. Peridot and Lapis have made some changes, I think that morp with the birdhouse is new.” Steven said 

 

“Morp?” 

 

“It’s what they’ve been calling art, mostly sculpture.” The renegade said, Domina smirked, last year she had spent the better part of a day looking at the duo’s ‘Meep Morps’ while she was waiting for Pearl to reform. Yellow Pearl scoffed.

 

“A peridot and lapis can’t create art.” She said.

 

“Why not?” Steven asked, though Domina was almost positive that he knew the answer to that.

 

“That’s not what they’re... What in stars name,” Yellow Pearl said. Domina turned to hazard a glance at the ever approaching ground. The Flourite permafusion was the easiest to pick out, but the area around the barn was clustered with people. Domina pulled her eyes away as she felt her stomach begin to lurch. 

 

“Lars and his crew are still on planet then?” Domina asked putting the refolded clothes away.

“Yeah! He’s going to baking school.” Steven said.

 

“Well that’s a leg up from stealing ships I guess.” Domina said smirking at Yellow Diamond who just looked back at her blankly. Oh right. That was going to take some explaining. 

  
  


The ship landed several moments later and Steven effortlessly picked up the power source and carried off the ship. In the area immediately surrounding the craft, Lion was sleeping curled up against the barn, Rhodonite was handing tools to Flourite who was working with Lars and Peridot on an ancient Roaming Eye, pulling out systems it looked like. Sadie and the Rutile twins played with some sort of... orange animal?

 

“Hey guys!” Steven said setting down the power source gently on a crate.

 

“Hey Steven.” Sadie said looking up from where the orange... thing was now licking her face. The others gave their greetings which trailed off as both Diamonds stepped out of the Styx.

 

“Oh, the group has returned from the moon everyone!” Padparadscha exclaimed. Lars sighed.

 

“Yeah, thanks Padparadscha.” He said before walking over to Domina. He glanced nervously at Yellow Diamond behind her. “Yeah, Steven’s dad said that you were... back in town.” He said awkwardly. Domina snorted. 

 

“Yes, I suppose that's one way of putting it.” She stepped slightly to the side and gestured back at Yellow. “Steven said you know who she is. Yellow, this is Lars, he’s captain of the crew that stole the Sun Incinerator last year.” Lars tensed, along with practically everyone else in the area. Yellow Diamond frowned. 

 

“You expect me to believe that an organic and a ragtag group of off colors snuck into a top security hanger and stole an experimental craft?”

 

“I... I mean yeah, it’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done.” Lars said with an awkward shrug.

 

“Yeah it was!” Steven said from the side. Yellow Diamond sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

 

“I am positive you weren’t pink the last time I saw you.”

 

“Yeah, that’s a long story.” Lars said rubbing the back of his head.

 

“So is everything with this cursed planet.” Yellow Diamond muttered.

 

****

There was no possible way this ship was going to work. Domina knew it, she had to. Yellow Diamond paced along the beach. 

 

The remainder of the day had been spent at that eyesore of a building listening to these idiots trying to figure out how to make a working trans-universal spaceship function from, well, junk. Sure, their dedication to the cause and willingness to help was admirable. Some gems that had actually belonged to her court wouldn’t go that far, not without prodding. But, this was a waste of time, it would be easier to concentrate on fixing the galaxy warp, go directly to Homeworld,

and then... probably end up getting everyone involved shattered. 

 

Yellow Diamond sighed and sat on the sand gripping the top of her head. They couldn’t do this, she couldn’t do this. She was going to be stuck on this planet forever.

 

“Hey uh, Yellow Diamond.” The hybrid-Quartz said. Yellow Diamond straightened herself immediately and shot the child an annoyed look. She was surprised he was even out here. White’s former pearl had been keeping him at a distance since she shoved him earlier in the day.

 

“What do you want Rose Quartz?” Yellow Diamond asked, she then looked up at the darkened sky, the Ipre Cluster was 97 degrees above the horizon. “Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?”

 

“I mean... kind of, but I’m alright. I was just wondering if we could talk.”

 

“Your Nacre bodyguard is going to allow that?” Yellow Diamond said keeping her eyes trained on the sky.

 

“Pearl went to see Sabina, and everyone else is in the temple or asleep.” Steven said, He had moved closer towards her and sat down on her right. 

 

“Oh.”

 

“So um...” He started, trailing his fingers through the sand. “Have you ever built a ship before?”

 

“That’s not what diamonds do.” Yellow Diamond said with a scoff. 

 

“Domina did.” 

 

“Domina shouldn’t have.”

 

“You didn’t really answer my question.”  Steven said. Yellow Diamond looked at him, his face was eager, trusting, actually interested in what she had to say.

 

  
“I regularly make modifications to my personal one” Yellow Diamond said, something she really should have assigned a peridot to do.  “But no I’ve never built one from scratch.”

 

“Oh, cool...” Steven said, he slipped off his shoes and crossed his legs. They were silent for a while “You can ask me one now if you want,” He said finally breaking the silence that had been tempered by the rolling waves. “Me and Domina take turns asking questions usually.”

 

“Well why don’t you go talk to her then?” Yellow Diamond said with an eyebrow raised, then she wondered if that had counted as a question.

 

“Because I’d rather talk to you,” He said, then looked at her expectantly. Yellow Diamond sighed.

 

“Very well, your defense said that you gave yourself up, why?” She asked. Stevens smile faded.

 

“Oh... well I...” Steven looked out over the sea and drummed his fingers on his legs. “I was just trying to protect... I thought my mom really had... shattered Pink Diamond.”

 

“You’re not the only one,”

 

“Yeah, so I... felt like I had to pay for what she did.” Steven said giving her a serious look.

 

“That's it?” Yellow Diamond said with a frown. Steven blinked at her.

 

“What?” He asked “Should there be more?”

 

“Well I...” Yellow Diamond said. “I don’t know.”

 

“So did you know that Peridot could move metal with her mind?” Steven asked. Yellow Diamond shook her head.

 

“Not 5XG specifically, though it’s not that much of a surprise.” She said. “In every gem type there's a certain level of variation. That's part of the reason your mother was such a successful opponent.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“Wait really? How?” Steven asked, he was more alert now, the same expression Domina used to get on her face every time Yellow discussed White Diamond.

 

“Rose Quartzes were created to be able to care for humans, and stimulate plant growth, your mother’s powers however extended to being able to repair cracked gems. It made fighting her...” Yellow paused. “Irritating.”

 

“Wow, so there are other peridots that can move metal like that.”

 

“Probably. Not that it’s necessary, they have limb enhancers.”

 

“It’s still cool.” Steven said. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes. Her turn.

 

“How did you neutralize the cluster?”

 

“Oh! Me and Peridot drilled down to where it was and we were going to destroy it but I convinced it not to form, and instead for all the shards to talk to each other.” Steven said. There was no proper word to describe Yellow Diamonds expression other than perhaps befuddlement, even that though was a gross understatement. 

 

“I... that shouldn’t even be possible.” 

 

“Yeah it was kind of a weird day over all.” Steven said.

 

“Do you ever have normal days?” Yellow Diamond muttered looking up at the stars again. Steven grinned

 

“Sometimes. So...did Pink Diamond have a ship?”


	19. XIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh.. this chapter was almost super long, but thankfully had a natural breaking point. If you check out monday's chapter again there's some art there now which you can also find on the tumblr. there will probably be more drawings now that I have a drawing tablet so that'll be kind of cool. As always thanks for the kind comments and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Thanks to Squish for betaing!
> 
> See you all monday!

Of course the ship was still on planet. Yellow Diamond stared at a fixed point on the horizon as Steven described what he had seen in the desert. Part of her attempted to reason that the hybrid was lying. That he hadn’t actually stumbled on Pink’s ship, mostly buried, where he had found a ‘tape’ amongst his mothers hoard. However Steven’s description was spot on. Yellow Diamond got to her feet.

 

“Huh? Where are you going?” Steven asked, following her.

 

“To talk to Domina about this, we’ll go take a look.” Yellow Diamond said walking towards the ship, still parked in the sand. The hatch was closed, but surely Domina could be roused. 

 

“Well she’s probably asleep. We could wait til the morning.” Steven said. Yellow Diamond scowled.

 

“I’ll wake her up then, she’ll be fine.” Yellow said “You said this place isn’t near a warp pad? We’ll need the ship to get there,” Steven moved in front of her and it took everything in her power not to backhand him into the temple.

 

“I can go find Lion! Just wait here.”  

 

“Lion?” Yellow Diamond asked a fraction of a second too late. The hybrid had already jumped into the air, floating towards the hill above the temple. Frack, what was a ‘lion’ again? There was a rumble from behind her. 

 

Yellow slowly turned to see the pink terrestrial animal, from the barn earlier, staring at her. “Right.” she said with a sigh. The animal stared at her with an intelligence that she wasn’t expecting.

 

Yellow had been given a basic rundown of this ‘pinking’ which really only made her wonder how in stars name Pink had gotten White to approve this gem design. The Rose Quartz may have been an outlier but this was too much. Yellow never would have approved. White was always too indulgent with Pink. Much more than she had been with Blue or Yellow.

 

“There you are Lion!” Steven said floating down. The animal blinked at Steven and yawned. “Can you take me and Yellow Diamond to where all of mom’s junk was? Where the ship is?”

 

“You honestly expect that you can communicate with that thing?” Yellow said, though there really wasn’t much force behind her words. There was something unnerving about the creature.

 

“Yeah, he’s pretty smart.” Steven said with a smile. Lion gave Yellow Diamond a look as if in response to her comment. The Beasts eyes were narrowed, and in a brief moment, she wondered if he was about to attack. She couldn’t dissipate something organic with her lightning. 

 

Instead Lion let out a roar that she could swear sent vibrations through her actual gem. A glowing portal appeared in front of him. Steven climbed on the creatures back. Yellow stared. “Come on!” Steven said. Yellow kept staring. How did White  _ ever _ approve of a gem that could make something like this?

 

Before Pink Diamond had emerged, the moment her gem placement had been determined, White had commissioned the leg ship. Yellow had multiple problems with the design, all of them coming back to the fact that it simply didn’t make sense. But White had been insistent upon the theme and Yellow wasn’t in any place to argue. It had been built with the best technology available at the time. 

 

Nothing but the best for the newest member of the Diamond Authority.

 

And sure enough, here it was. Pink Diamond’s leg ship, sitting in the middle of a desert on the planet where she had been shattered. Yellow dismounted Lion and walked towards one of the legs. 

 

“Thanks Lion!” Steven said before running after her. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes, her gem glowed and a door half buried in sand opened.  “So will it still fly?” He asked.

 

Yellow Diamond frowned and ducked her head to go through the Quartz sized door. The lights didn’t automatically turn on, not a good sign. “Perhaps,” She said “You should wait here, I doubt you’ll be of much help anyway.”

 

“I don’t think the gems are going to be very happy with me bringing you here in the first place.” Steven said. Yellow raised an eyebrow and looked back at the child. His face had gone uncharacteristically serious. “I should come with you. At least I can say I kept an eye on you, like when me and Peridot went to the Kindergarten.” He said. Yellow tried not to chafe at being compared to  _ that  _ Peridot.

 

“Fine, I can’t guarantee it’ll be safe.” Yellow Diamond said. Steven smiled and Rose Quartz’s shield appeared on his arm.

 

“I’ll be ok.” He said. Yellow Diamond turned towards the engine room, her gem illuminating the way. The ship was eerily quiet. They should be able to hear the emergency systems kicking on at the very least. Instead, all there was was the sound of their footsteps on the smooth tile. 

 

“What was she like?” Steven asked as they passed through the desolate control room.

 

“Who?” Yellow asked, even though she knew exactly who he was talking about. 

 

“Pink Diamond.” Steven supplied, he didn’t even add an ‘of course’ to it.

 

“She was young.” Yellow said.

 

“And? Was she more like you or Blue Diamond?” Steven asked. Yellow pursed her lips and looked down at the child again. She shouldn’t even be entertaining this hybrid. This was Diamond business, nothing a quartz should concern themselves with. And yet here she was answering him.

 

“Me, I suppose. She was stubborn and eager. But...” There was a catch in her throat, she frowned and paused outside the door. She could practically see Pinks frustrated expression as she stomped her foot while Yellow ignored her in favor of looking over reports from her inner colonies. She could feel the flush of embarrassment as White told her that Pink wouldn’t care about the details of the ships navigation systems she had spent an hour talking about. She could see Blue doting on this new diamond, taking her side in every argument, despite the bond that Yellow thought they had once shared. She could see White stumbling on board the ship with Blues gem in hand, face crumbling with unprecedented emotion. She could see each of the diamonds pulling away from each other as the grief for the youngest among them ate away at their emotions.

 

“Yellow?” Steven asked. “Yellow Diamond, are you okay?” Yellow shook her head as her mind refocused.

 

“I’m fine.” She snapped, opening the door. The ship systems were all together, something that would never be allowed in ship construction today. Really, Yellow wasn’t sure why it had been allowed 5000 years ago. The only thing that was separated out was the power source. Yellow started flipping on switches. The room jumped to life, putting out a comforting whir as systems started up.

 

“Awesome!” Steven said looking around. “So we should just be able to fly to the Omega Quadrant with this right?”  Yellow Diamond nodded, then frowned as she sniffed the air. “Everyone’s going to be so excit- is it supposed to smell like that?” Steven asked.

 

“No...” Yellow Diamond’s eyes shifted towards the power closet. Shards. There was a high pitched whine eeking out of it. A soft rumble emanated from it, vibrating the room. Yellow Diamond strode over and threw open the door to the closet. A hairline fracture ran across the curve of the generator, leaking acid onto the dissolving floor below. The opposite side was corroded and bulging. If left alone, it would have still held up for another couple hundred years. Now however they weren’t going to be as lucky. 

 

“Out.” She said reaching for the tubes connecting the generator, she might be able to diffuse this. 

 

“What? Why what’s going on.” Steven said leaning forward to get a closer look. Yellow pushed the hybrid back with her free, not incredibly hot hand.

 

“This is going to explode. Get off the ship, Quartz. Now.” Yellow said, three out of the four tubes had been pulled, the last one was stuck though, melted to the generator itself. Frack.  

 

“Well come on then, you’re in danger too!” Steven said, the hybrid grabbed the back of her coat and pulled with surprising strength given his size. Yellow Diamond spun around.

 

“How dare you! I gave you a direct ord-” The tube broke off in her hand and that was all it took to release the pent up energy. In the brief seconds before the generator exploded Yellow Diamond grabbed Steven by his shirt and ran. Her other hand was numb. Her shoulder knocked into the door frame. Fire burst behind them as the engine bay began to explode, and Yellow Diamond lost the small amount of focus she had reserved to keep her size in check. 

 

Fire turned sand to glass, pieces of ship ripped through her form before she was encased in a pink bubble with Steven as the two of them slammed into a nearby dune. 

 

Seconds after the impact the bubble dissolved. 

 

“I didn’t know I could make one that big.” Steven said breathlessly. Yellow Diamond sat up and winced as a piece of pink shrapnel bit into her side. Her gem, thankfully, was uncracked. “Oh no!” Steven looked up at her. Yellow glanced the boy over, she wasn’t an expert on human physiology but he seemed relatively unharmed. She could feel her physical form trying to release, she could practically see warning signs in her head telling her she had taken far to much damage.

 

“About time for a form change anyway.” Yellow Diamond said through gritted teeth. 

 

“Well wait wait! I can heal you, You don’t have to poof” Steven said panicking. Yellow Diamond weakly held a hand up. She hoped Domina’s threat had been idle. 

 

“Steven.” She said as calmly as she could, moments before her form released “I’ll be fine.”

 


	20. XX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap guys! this thing is 20 chapter's long!?! This is crazy I tell you. The first Domina story (which is 20 chapters) was only supposed to be ten chapters long, and this fic well... this fic wasn't even supposed to happen! Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck around since the beginning of this mess and to those who have just recently joined. I can't believe that you've decided to read this fic and leave kudos and lovely comments. 
> 
> Thank you all so much, you're amazing.
> 
> Thanks to [Squish ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Squish13/pseuds/Squish13) for continuing to put up with my unprocessed nonsense. if you want more Yellow Diamond in your life then you should go check out Golden Universe by them, cause where else are you going to get some excellent Yellow/Greg content?
> 
> Enjoy the chapter and see you all friday!

Domina had awoken from a nightmare three hours into her sleep cycle. Nightmares, of course, weren’t unusual at this point of her life. After nearly 5000 years, her brain had plenty of material to work with to create everything from sentient black holes to being naked while giving presentations to the colony advisors of the Alpha sector.

 

Nothing though quite topped the feeling of falling while watching the gems of the fleet shatter on the ground below, then catapulting up in bed the moment she hit the ground, and knocking her head on the storage cubbies above.  

 

So after that, she worked on fixing her visor, carefully replacing the screen and then passed out in the chair wrapped in a blanket with the digital copy of  _ Destiny’s End  _ open on the repaired screen.

 

The sound of someone banging against the Styx’s outer hull woke her up the second time. Domina grimaced as she cracked her neck and untangled herself from the chair. There was another flurry of knocks and she could hear muffled, agitated discussion. Domina stumbled to the door and smacked her hand against the panel to open it.

 

“Quid est?” She mumbled rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The Renegade pearl moved past her without a word.

 

“Pearl. He’s gonna be fine.” Amethyst whined as she also stepped aboard. Domina blinked and nodded awkwardly at Garnet and then looked at Sabina who mouthed ‘sorry’ as she walked past typing something into her phone.  The three other Pearls had remained outside, Yellow watching the proceedings with shock, Blue with her usual impassivity and Pearl with exasperation.

 

“Well I guess come on in.” Domina said, then looked at Pearl as the remainder of the group piled in. “What’s going on?”

 

“Not entirely sure, something about Steven being in the desert. White’s a little... overwrought.” She said shutting the door behind her.

 

“He just picked up, hold on.” Sabina said from the cockpit where The Renegade was panicking about...something. A ship? Domina wove her way to the front and started going through the precheck. That’s when her waking observations finally caught up with her half-asleep brain. 

 

“Wait, where’s Yellow Diamond?” She asked. 

 

“Hey guys,” Steven’s voice said over the phone’s speaker. 

 

“Steven! Are you ok? Do you have water? What are you doing in desert?!” The Renegade panicked. 

 

“Hey kiddo. Sorry, the signal out by my house sucks.” Sabina said.

 

“That’s weird. Lapis and Peridot never have any issues.” 

 

“Yeah I think it has something to do with the setup Peri rigged for the wifi.”

 

“That makes sense, except it goes out when-” Steven began only to be interrupted by Garnet

 

“Steven. Focus.”

 

“Right, sorry.” Steven said. “So I was asking Yellow Diamond about Pink Diamonds ship and I told her that I thought it was where mom’s junk all was.” Everyone looked at The Renegade who immediately began adjusting the navigation systems. “And so me and her went to go check it out. And uh.... It kind of exploded.”

 

“It exploded?” The Renegade said and then rubbed around her gem. “Steven what were you thinking, are you ok?”

 

“Is Yellow there?” Domina asked leaning back towards the speaker.

 

“Um... yeah... She uh... She poofed. I’m ok though.” He said. “And her gem’s okay, I already double checked.”  Domina sighed but nodded, at least that was one less thing to worry about. 

 

“Well, are you good for now?” Sabina asked. Then looked at Domina “How fast can we get there?”  Domina glanced at the navigation panel, then shrugged. 

 

“A hour maybe.” She said.

 

“Yeah I’ll be ok, Lion’s here and there’s some water and snacks in his mane.”  Steven said.

 

“Uh dude, why don’t you just come back through Lars?” Amethyst asked. There was silence on the other end of the line.

 

“Well... I couldn’t bring Yellow’s gem with me,” Steven said after a beat.

 

“So?” Amethyst asked, earning her a glare from Yellow Pearl. “What? We could swing by later and get her, how long does it take her to reform anyway, like what, a week?” Yellow Pearl sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She possibly looked more anxious about this situation than The Renegade did. 

 

“The last one took four weeks” Yellow Pearl said, then leaned forwards to the phone. “Steven, I’m sure my diamond would appreciate your loyalty, but there's really no need for this.” 

“No, it’s okay. There’s some cool stuff out here that survived the blast, also it would feel rude, she kind of saved me.” Steven said. 

 

“She what?!” Domina said turning in the seat the ship was beginning to leave the ground, she could do this. 

 

“When the power thingy exploded, she grabbed me while she was running, and before that, she kept trying to get me to leave. I think she’s mostly just grumpy, she seemed really upset when we were talking about Pink diamond too.”

 

“Alright kid, hold tight, we’ll be there in like an hour.” Sabina said. Domina nodded and turned back to the controls as the group wrapped up the conversation behind her. She stared at the screen, then tore her eyes away as the ground began to spin in front of her. She had to pull it together. She had to do this. Domina looked back at the screen and moved her hands over the controls. It should all be muscle memory at this point. 

 

“Domina?” Pearl asked. She should be able to do this. She’d been flying ships like this since she was eight.

 

“What’s going on?” The Renegade said disapprovingly. It was the one thing she could do as well as the gems that had been made for it. She’d always been able to fly these. So why did her arm hurt so much? Why was she so cold all of the sudden? Why wasn’t the world staying still? 

 

“Domina.” Garnet’s voice said firmly, a hand laid on her shoulder and Domina jumped, nearly knocking her head on the ceiling.

 

“I can’t do it!” She blurted climbing out of the seat and backing away from it. The group on board stared at her.

 

“What are you talking about?” The Renegade said. “It’s your ship.”

 

“I can’t fly, someone else is going to have to do it.” She said.

 

“Domina, what’s wrong?” Pearl asked, she looked worried, Pearl shouldn’t have to worry about her, she wasn’t worth worrying about.

 

“Nothing. I’m fine, just fine. Someone else needs to fly though.” Domina said, her voice cracking. There was silence. Sabina glaced at the gems. Garnet was impassive. Amethyst cocked her head to the side. Pearl hesitantly reached towards her.

 

“Domina what’s wrong?” She asked again, more firmly, gently laying a hand on her arm. 

 

“I’m fine!” Domina snapped, pulling back as if scalded. A wind burst through the interior of the Styx, scattering leftover parts on the workbench at the back of the ship. The blankets on her bed fell on the floor and a box of oddly colored rocks, she had picked up hundreds of years ago, toppled.

 

“Yeah, cause that seems fine.” Amethyst said sarcastically.

 

“I am,” Domina said frantically. She couldn’t let them know. She had to hold it together. She couldn’t let Pearl worry, couldn’t let Yellow carry her through a fight again. She had to get past this fear, she had to be able to protect everyone, to protect herself. “I-” Domina squeezed her eyes shut against the pain under her gem and tensed as she realized what happened. When she opened her eyes she was met with a cacophony of images. 

 

With a year of intermittent practice, she could figure out where most of them belonged. Blue Pearl’s were tinged in a blue that reeked of sadness. Yellow Pearl’s and Amethyst’s were fairly normal, just snippets of everything from secret pictures to empty canyons. Garnet’s were mixed, even, and balanced. Sabina’s were varied and scattered. Then there were Pearl’s, normal ones of her growing up and Pink Diamond in her palanquin were interspersed with blinding white static. The Renegade’s were similar, there was just so so much static. 

 

In the moment it took her to look around, the heat in her gem faded and Domina’s eyes blinked as her conscious re-entered reality. Everyone looked at least mildly puzzled, except for Pearl, who was shocked, and The Renegade who looked as she had in the moment where she had realized who Domina was the first time they met, undeniably afraid.

 

“I didn’t change anything. I’m sorry,” Domina said, looking at The Renegade directly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

 

“I’ll fly.” The Renegade said turning from Domina. “We’ve wasted enough time”

 

Domina ducked into the bathroom to hide. She washed her face, ran her fingers through her hair, and pulled a clean shirt on. She didn’t feel any better, but it wasted some time. By the time she stepped out, Pearl was talking to The Renegade about some minutia of the ship’s guidance system. Domina picked the rocks up off the floor and threw the tools back in their box. 

 

When she turned to pile her blankets back on her bed, she saw that it had already been made. She glanced at the other two pearls who were discussing something among themselves, and then saw that Sabina was sitting on the opposite one, the one that was technically Pearl’s bed. 

 

“You okay kid?” Sabina asked.

 

“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” Domina asked, awkwardly pulling on her jacket from where it had been thrown over the bench near the whirring engines.

 

“Eh, panic attacks suck,” Sabina said with a shrug “Been there, done that.” Domina didn’t say anything. She dug through the food storage for one of the red fruits, then after a moment grabbed another one and offered it to Sabina. The woman took it with interest. “Is this one of those weird zoo not-fruits?” She asked. Domina nodded and took a bite, red was the best flavor, not that there was really that much of a difference.

 

“It’s basically a solidified nutritional slurry.” Domina said. Sabina smirked, then took a bite and made a confused face.

 

“Weird.” She said. “Steven said this is basically all you eat?”

 

“Yes, though they come in different colors.” She said. Sabina laughed and shook her head.

 

“Oh honey,” She muttered taking another bite. “No wonder you were so gung-ho for tacos.”

 

****

Yellow Pearl had seriously fracked up. She should have been present when her diamond and the hybrid went off on this ridiculous adventure. She shouldn’t have been spending time with the other pearls. She should have been a loyal pearl like she was supposed to be. She was apparently the only one of the Diamond’s pearls that valued that loyalty. And of course, it had to be to the only Diamond that didn’t particularly care. One thing was for sure, when Yellow Diamond reformed, she was  _ not _ going to be happy. Then again, she might finally decide to get rid of those ridiculous shoulder pads. 

 

White landed the ship expertly and then blew past everyone in her effort of check on her hybrid charge. Everyone else left the ship at a much more sane pace. Outside the ship was a wreck. Pink debris had been thrown miles from the blast point. Chunks of ship systems sat amongst the dunes, some still in decent shape, all things considered. Steven was sitting next to the pink beast known as ‘Lion’ and her Diamond’s gems which had returned to its normal size. She inspected it while White fawned over the boy and confirmed what Steven had said, her Diamond would be fine.

 

“Well I guess it’s nice to know where the legs ended up.” White Diamond said. She was inspecting the rubble nearby, pretty obviously avoiding Pink Pearl. 

 

“Yellow said that something was wrong with the power system, that's what exploded.” Steven said. 

 

“Hm, well there's still a lot of useful stuff here. We should get the others and see what’s salvageable.” She said.

 

“We can do that.” Garnet said. 

“So uh, bubble Yellow D and tap the top?” the amethyst said. Yellow Pearl almost squawked in indignation on her diamond’s behalf then remembered that is precisely what White Diamond had told Yellow Diamond she would do on the moon base.

 

“Well, it would keep her out of the way.” White Pearl said.

 

“Oh come on guys, she really helped, we don’t have to bubble her.” Steven said. 

 

“I mean she hasn’t really been that cooperative.” Pink muttered. Yellow Pearl saw White Diamond look at the Diamond’s gem and then look at her directly.

 

“What do you think, Yellow?” She asked. Then paused. “Wait, can I call you Yellow? Or do you prefer Pearl? Sorry, this is confusing.” Yellow blinked in surprise. She saw Blue look at her then at Domina, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips

 

“Uh... Yellow is fine your- er... White Diamond um...” Yellow said nervously. The Diamond had moved closer to her. Stars, why did she insist on addressing her directly? “What do I think about what?”

 

“Should we bubble her or not?” White Diamond asked nodding at Yellow Diamond’s gem. “I mean, you’re the one who has to put up with her... moods the most.” This had to be a trick. Yellow Pearl looked at Pink, who looked surprised but smiled encouragingly back at Yellow.

 

“I... I don’t know if I should really be making this kind of decision your bril- White Diamond.” Yellow Pearl said. White Diamond shrugged.

 

“Why not? She’s your diamond. Your decision’s as good as any we’re going to come up with.” White Diamond said with a grin. “If you’re worried about retaliation, then I’ll take responsibility if you want us to bubble her. She hates me enough as is.” Yellow Pearl frowned. What was she talking about?

 

“She doesn’t hate you.” Yellow Pearl said. White Diamond raised both eyebrows surprised. “I....we can leave her unbubbled.” She said quickly, out of the corner of her eye she saw Amethyst give an exasperated sigh, only to get a sharp elbow from White. 

 

“Alright.” White Diamond said. “Your choice. If you change your mind, let me know.” She looked at the gem more directly, then at the Styx’s entrance. “Getting her back to the temple though should be interesting .”

 


	21. XXI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy really late chapter guys!! Today was kind of busy so unfortunately this didn't get done til super late and it's not beta'd due to some technical difficulties. As always you can scream at me in the comments if I kept you up waiting. On the blog there is some [ art ](https://domina-alba.tumblr.com/post/171397332173/i-remembered-i-can-draw-im-not-a-big-fan-of) of Blue Pearl with her axe. 
> 
> I will see you all monday! Enjoy the chapter.

 

Pink Pearl remembered the first time Domina had flown. The girl had been about 4 years old, and it wasn’t so much flight as it was a gentle hover three feet off the ground. Vitus had called her into a room in a panic while Domina had giggled and spun in the air. When they had moved to the colony base itself Domina spent probably as much time in the air as she did on the ground. No bump or sprain or break had ever detered her from flying. 

 

Except for this. Pearl had gotten the whole story about what happened from Yellow and Blue, after Domina had given her the abridged version filtered through relieved tears. Now though, knowing exactly how much the encounter with Blue Diamond had affected Domina, Pearl was ready to take down the diamond herself. 

 

Of course, Blue Diamond was several thousand light years away. And the incident still didn’t account for one thing. 

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Pearl asked. Domina jumped slightly from where she was lurking through the retrieved wreckage of Pink Diamond’s ship.

 

“Huh? Tell you about what?” Domina asked nervously. White and Sabina had left to pick up Lapis and Peridot who were sifting through the last bits of the wreckage.The others of the group were milling about with the exception of Steven who was taking a nap in the barn, his nighttime excursions having caught up with him. Pink Pearl frowned.

 

“Domina, you know what I’m talking about.” She said. Domina didn’t look at her and instead picked up a piece of ship.

 

“Does this look like part of a gravity regulator to you?” Domina asked innocently.

 

“You’re avoiding the question,” Pearl knelt down next to her. 

 

“Well there was nothing to tell you.” Domina said quickly inspecting the piece of machinery, she apparently decided it was worth something and set it gently off to the side.

 

“Nothing to tell me?” Pearl looked at her incredulously. “Domina you can’t honestly say that. You’re afraid-”

 

“No I’m not!” Domina said, her voice cracking slightly in desperation. Wind ruffled Pearl’s skirt as the woman calmed her breathing. Her voice came out much smaller than before. “...yes I am.” 

 

“So why didn’t you tell me?” Pearl repeated. She was more successful in brushing the hair away from Domina's face than she had been in comforting her on the Styx. Domina shrugged but didn’t pull away from the hug that Pearl pulled her into. 

 

“I assumed you didn’t need to worry about me.” She said before pulling away. “I... I can take care of myself.” Something cold ran through Pearls form. 

 

“Well you don’t have to go at it alone.” Pearl said, trying to forget what Mossy had mentioned about Domina ‘onboarding a new pearl’. “I’m here, if you need help Domina then-”

 

“No I just... I don’t need you, I can take care of myself. Don’t worry about me.” Domina said, her grin was as forced as Pearl’s calm facade. “Beside’s you’ve got more interestings things to do than to worry about me.” Pearl opened her mouth only to be interrupted by the shadow of the Styx approaching.  

 

Domina pulled away and moved out of the landing area. Lapis Lazuli, who had apparently opted not to ride back landed daintily near by and gave the ship a smirk.

 

“Did you two have any luck?” Domina asked.

 

“Yeah we found th-” Lapis Lazuli started only to be interrupted by Peridot bounding out of the ship with a triumphant yell.

 

“As usual I have saved the day!” Peridot said holding up the reformation orb for Pink Diamond’s ship. Pearl saw Domina suppress a smile, one that seemed a little bit more genuine than the one from earlier.

 

“Excellent work. I don’t suppose you know how to reprogram that though?” Domina asked. Peridot’s face fell.

 

“Er, well, no, but how hard can it be?”

 

“Well they’re grown for one thing.” Domina said moving to retrieve a box of parts from the Styx. “ So they’re not just like a computer. It would be like reprogramming a hand ship to work as a drilling rig.” Lapis patted Peridot's head consolingly.

 

“What is it?” Sabina asked from her crouched position amongst the boxes.

 

“It’s a reformation orb, they can essentially repair the ship they are made for, making the ship self-healing.” White said.

 

“Oh.. so why are we bothering building a ship if we can just use that thing?” She asked. Peridot grumbled and gently tossed the orb to the side.

 

“Because in order to regrow the whole ship, from the orb itself, it would take approximately half a century.” Peridot said.

 

“Ah, yeah that doesn’t really fit in the time table does it?” Sabina said putting the box down with the others. Pink helped unload the ship and watched as Yellow inspected the contents of the boxes.

 

“No,” White said “Really what would be best would be to design a smaller ship that could accomplish our mission, build as much as possible and use the orb to finish it off and ensure there are no problems with the ship’s stability.” 

 

“Speaking of design,” Domina said as she pulled up a set of plans she had been working on. Pink stepped away from the conversation and over to Yellow who was inspecting the orb Peridot had tossed a side.

 

“Something wrong with it?” She asked. Yellow jumped and set the orb back down, backing away from it as if it was dangerous .

 

“No no, it was the most sturdy part of the ship.” Yellow said quickly. “It’s in perfect condition.” 

 

****

 

By the time the sun set the group had finally decided on plan for the building of the ship. That group though, consisted primarily of White, Peridot and White Diamond. No one else really had much experience in any kind of ship design . 

 

So Blue Pearl had occupied her time with illustrating the board where Steven had drawn a highly stylized version of some sort of human space ship and getting to know this ‘Pumpkin’ creature. Lapis Lazuli, the one who had once been among her diamonds highest ranked Lapises, seemed rather attached to the creature, as attached as she was to the peridot. Neither of them mentioned the past. Not that either would have had a reason to speak to the other under ‘normal’ circumstances. 

 

The group had decided to stay in the vicinity of the barn. Domina had turned down Sabina’s offer to her and Steven to spend the night at Sabina’s dwelling, and instead was sleeping onboard the Styx. Or at least she had said that’s what she was going to do. Blue Pearl came across her sitting just outside the ship, next to Yellow Diamond’s gem which rested on a pile of blankets Steven had constructed. Domina was staring up at the night sky and smiled at Blue when she approached.

 

“I couldn’t sleep,” She said by way of explanation. “And the atmospheric composition on this planet is fantastic, I can see all the way to the Gamma quadrant.” Blue Pearl looked up, brushing the hair from her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time that day. She was right, you could see Homeworld’s galaxy too, twinkling. 

For not the first time she wondered what her di- Blue Diamond had thought when she reformed and Blue wasn’t there. Did she know what had happened? Blue Pearl shook her head in an attempt to clear the thoughts from it. Her hair flopped back over her eyes.

 

“You gave the choice to Yellow.” Blue pearl began, really that whole conversation had been weighing on her mind since that morning. The whole incident was adding more information about White Diamond’s nature that Pinks stories hadn’t given. Domina nodded.

 

“Seemed fair enough, Yellow’s the one that’s had to put up with her and I certainly didn’t want to have to make the decision.” Domina said. Blue Pearl nodded.

 

“What are you planning to do about the other diamond?” She asked softly. Looking back down at Domina. The Diamonds smile faded. She folded her knee’s underneath her, not unlike any pearl did by default. Blue Pearl sat next to her. 

 

“I don’t know, I suppose the simple answer is bubble Blue Diamond and figure out how to re divide her duties between myself and Yellow,” Domina said, glancing slightly at the inert gemstone on the other side of her. “Not that Yellow needs anymore work to do. I’d offer her to you but... I don’t think Yellow would let me get away with that.” 

 

“True, and things will continue as they have?” She asked.

 

“I hope not,” Domina muttered. “If after this I can’t get Yellow to change her mind about the way things are run then there's no hope,” She paused then looked directly at Blue Pearl “Why, do you have any ideas?”

 

Blue Pearl wanted to say: ‘Yes, I’ve had ideas since the first rebellion was crushed, when you do nothing but stand at a diamond’s side you have nothing but ideas.’ Instead she shrugged noncommittally.  “I have had some thoughts on the subject.” Domina snorted.

 

“Some? I’m sure that’s an understatement.” The Diamond got to her feet “I probably should attempt to get some sleep, but, you should know that I am willing to listen. I’m sure you and Pearl...” Domina paused and frowned. “My pearl? Er, wait... no that doesn’t sound quite right.” Blue Pearl felt the corners of her mouth twitch in a slight smile.   
  


“I understand your meaning.”

 

“Right, any way, I’m sure you and Pearl could probably rebuild the empire from the ground up.” Domina said. “So if you want to share before you two and your rebellion break away to do whatever, I could use all the help I could get.”  

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Blue pearl said, though she was not entirely sure that Domina was right in thinking that Pink was planning to stay with the New Rebellion. But she did know that if Domina truly meant what she said, the New Rebellion might have a chance at changing things after all.


	22. XXII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter didn't go entirely as planned but we still end up in a good place for friday and monday's chapters which... I'm not gonna lie I'm kind of excited about. 
> 
> This chapter is unfortunately unbeta'd due to my inability to get things done in a timely manner.  
> In other news the long awaited (by me atleast) second chapter of [ Veni Vidi Connie ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/30871326) (a crossover fic with the lovely people over at connieswap) will be going up this wednesday. 
> 
> Also thank you everyone so so so so soooooo much for every comment and kudos and just... you guys are awesome.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter, and I'll see you friday.

Everything moved faster on earth. Yellow Pearl hadn’t quite believed White when she said that the first night when the pearls had gathered in her room. But now she had to admit, irritatingly enough, that White was correct, not that Yellow would ever give her the satisfaction of saying so.  

 

On Homeworld it took several decades to grow the parts necessary for the construction of most elite ships. Dropships and hand ships could take up to half a century to be fully completed. Even ships like the Roaming Eyes took 5 years minimum to be completed. 

 

This ‘ship’ though, was coming along quickly despite the group’s size, lack of experience and bouts of diversions caused by anything from Steven and White Diamond needing to sleep, to weekly ‘days off’ so that the Connie human could have her sword lessons. Yellow knew White had spoken with both Blue and Pink about learning to handle weapons, so it was only a matter of time before she was cornered about it. Nevermind that none of them had any business handling weapons, nevermind the rules, and nevermind the fact that eventually Yellow Diamond was going to reform and she would not be happy to know that her pearl had strayed so far from her original programming. 

 

It was bad enough what she was doing already, hiding behind the barn away from everyone, with the reformation orb salvaged from Pink Diamond’s ship. The orb’s were not of her Diamond’s invention. They had first been grown by a Morganite roughly 2 thousand years after her Diamond had taken charge of most of the empire’s research. Her Diamond hadn’t been hugely interested in the technology itself caring more about it’s practical application. But she still received reports on its development. Reports that she had passed off to her pearl to file away. Reports that Yellow Pearl had read through during the dullest days in her Diamond’s service.

 

Reformation orbs were rare, made for a particular ship and were not to intended to be reprogrammed. However, White Diamond had been wrong in implying that it was impossible to do so. 

 

Yellow Pearl reprojected a copy of the plans White had drawn on the chalky analog interface on the front of the building. They had been changed several times so the drawing itself was interspersed with the traitorous Peridot’s blocky handwriting and White Diamond’s nearly unreadable scrawl. 

 

She focused on it, memorizing the design and notes with the thousands of years of practice, then picked up the sphere and let her hands merge with the orb, data broadcasting itself on to her eyes as she sifted through the information that was already in place deleting large swathes and replacing it with code that she hoped was correct. She could only work on this task for maybe half an hour at the most before her gem started to ache. When she couldn’t take it anymore she would pull out of the orb and usually see if there was another task she could assist with. 

This time when she pulled her consciousness out of the scrolling numbers and data points, Steven was standing in front of her, his communication device in one hand and a confused look on his face. Yellow yelped and the orb launched into the air. Steven hopped into the air and caught it easily then offered it back.

 

“I uh... came to see if you wanted to help take pictures, Blue said that I should ask. But if your busy... What are you doing?” He asked. Yellow Pearl hesitated and took the orb back, storing it in her gem. This was wrong, she shouldn't be doing this, this wasn’t what Pearls do. 

 

“Nothing” She said dismissively, “Nothing important at least.” Steven didn’t look convinced. That was fine, she didn’t need to convince him. “What was that about pictures?” 

****

It was nice to be working with people.Back with the fleet, when she had the oppurtunity, she would go out with the survey teams, or on a patrol, or to help set injector drills. Unfortunately being on Homeworld there wasn’t much of that kind of work to do, research was nice and touring new facilities was interesting. But all of that was done alone or just with Pearl who for the most part it would cause an uproar to get her opinion on things. 

 

This though, working on the ship, was fun in a ‘if this doesn’t work everything could end poorly’ kind of way. The renegade was willing to talk to her without too many awkward pauses when they were talking about the ship. Peridot and Lapis bounced off each other. Blue and Pink provided an extra set of hand’s small enough to do delicate work. Garnet and Amethyst provided physical help as necessary. There was also this rotating cast of people who swung by to lend a metaphorical hand on the project. The crew of off colors, Sabina, Connie, even Greg. 

 

Yellow’s gem was still outside the Styx, Steven had put a pile of blankets under it and an umbrella over it incase it rained. Very considerate of him, though she wasn’t sure Yellow would appreciate it. She’d probably think it was ridiculous. Domina had seen Yellow Pearl and him wandering around taking pictures of the work that was going on, he said it was to show Yellow when she reformed. Another thing Domina wasn’t sure she’d appreciate but she wasn’t going to tell Steven that. 

 

At the end of the three weeks most of the main systems were online, gravity regulator, spatial compressor, communications. As well as some lasers Peridot had cobbled together from several bits of human technology. The engines still weren’t in place though and Domina wasn’t the only one that was worried about that.

 

“Are we sure that the one’s on the leg ship are that badly damaged?” Domina asked. They were taking a break as the day had grown warmer. It had been colder the last few days, from what she understood from Peridot the planet was entering a cooling weather planet that would last a little over 90 days.

“They were unrecognizable so yes.” The renegade said. Domina frowned and took a thoughtful bite of her sandwich  Sabina had brought food as she usually did. Today’s ‘lunch’ was something called pastrami and it was fracking delicious.

 

“Not to suggest that we cannibalize your ship,” Sabina said Domina shrugged, she had actually resigned herself to taking parts from the Styx at the beginning of this. “But why can’t we use the engines from it?”

 

“Scale,” Peridot said “We’re talking about a completely different ship class,” She waved her hand at the half completed ship. “Despite the spatial compression our ship still has well over twice the mass of Whi- Domina’s ship.”

 

“Is there any way to fix the old engines?” Steven asked offering his empty juice box to Amethyst. The renegade sighed. 

 

“No Steven, they’re unrecognizable remember, practically melted.”

 

“Yeah but what about with that orb thingy?” Amethyst asked chewing on the cardboard box. Domina had tried that a few days ago, the cardboard was not edible by human or half-human standards. “Can it just re build like a bit of the ship, like the parts we need?”

 

“It’s not that precise.” Domina said. She glanced back at Styx and chewed thoughtfully. “Maybe if we overclocked the engine and fed all the excess power from the gravity drive into the cross channel-”

 

“That would cause it to explode.” The renegade said flatly.

 

“And isn't the gravity drive like what keeps everyone the right size?” Sabina asked skeptically.

 

“Obviously,” Peridot scoffed. “And it wouldn’t explode immediately, it would after approximately 20 minutes.”

 

“And for those twenty minutes it would be very fast.” Domina said with a slight smile.

 

“Can we make the trip in 19?” Blue Pearl asked. Domina was positive that was the first joke she had ever heard the gem make, there was even the hint of a smile. Domina had to wonder, how long would it take for her to heal from Blue Diamond’s emotional manipulation?

 

“We are not rerouting the...doing that.” Pearl said firmly, she gave Domina the same stern look she got everytime she suggested jumping into empty space to quickly solve a problem. 

 

“So um... what if the reformation orb thingy was reprogrammed to fix just the engines, or the whole ship?” Steven asked hesitantly. Domina sighed, she swore this topic got brought up every day. 

 

“Steven we’ve been over this at least 27 times,” she said. “It’s impossible to reprogram that thing, especially here. None of us know the first thing about how it actually works.” Steven bit his bottom lip and hesitantly glanced over at Yellow Pearl who was inspecting the plans which had been redrawn for probably the 5th time that morning. 

 

As everyone else followed his gaze Domina processed what he had just said. If he was right... well that would be more than amazing. Domina stood up and made her way over to Yellow Pearl, she realized a few moments later that everyone had followed her as she followed Yellow Pearl who had walked back around the barn. Yellow Pearl sat on the ground and retrieved the reformation orb from her gem. Domina hadn’t even noticed it disappearing from the pile of parts. Domina watched as she melded her hands with the orb, not unlike how some of the warships worked. Lines of data began to scroll across Yellow Pearl’s eyes. 

 

“Holy shi-take mushroom.” Sabina said. Domina wasn’t entirely sure what that meant but she had to agree.

 

****

She might be nearly done. Though Yellow Pearl wasn’t entirely sure all the coding was correct. And then... Then she didn’t know what she was going to do, who did she tell that she just spent three weeks working on something that ‘might’ work. Maybe it would have been better to leave it all well enough alone. Yellow began to feel the strain on her gem as she plugged in the last three set of data points for the numerical controls. She pulled out of the orb and froze as her eyes cleared and she saw everyone staring at her. Blue with the most delighted smile on her face that Yellow had seen in centuries.


	23. XXIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all! did you all see the new promos? are you excited to learn that White Diamond isn't a half human dork? cause I sure am! This friday's chapter is uh... well I don't want to say too much. I just hope you enjoy it! Thank you Squish for slogging through the exceptionally bad rough draft of this thing though, be glad that's not the version you have to read here.  
> Let me know what you think either in the comments or over on the blog.
> 
> See you all monday!

"Domina you have to give her space” Pearl lectured her as the Styx began to descend. In order to give the newly reprogrammed reformation orb space to do its job the Styx needed to be relocated back to the beach. Domina knew for a fact Pearl had pulled her along to make Yellow Pearl more comfortable. Considering Domina had spent the twenty minutes questioning the pearl after Yellow Pearl had revealed her skill. Not that Domina had intended to intimidate the gem, but it was probably for the best.

 

“Yes, yes. First rule of dealing with Yellow Pearl, don’t ask her questions too fast or you’ll freak her out.” Domina said. She was sitting on her bunk, balancing Yellow’s gem on her lap.  

 

“No,” Pearl corrected, Domina could tell she was smiling. “First rule of dealing with Yellow is don’t draw needless attention to her.” Domina smirked. This had been part of a larger set of rules that had been collected during the portion of Domina’s childhood that had taken place on Homeworld.

 

“That attention was definitely not needless,” Domina said. She would have stood if it wasn’t for the fact that there really wasn’t a good place to put Yellow. “That’s amazing, I can’t believe she taught herself to program that thing. This is better than when Ruby 7FT learned how to repair those robonoids. I’ll never forget the look on her agate’s face when Mossy told her 7FT was going to be transferred to base maintenance.” Domina said gleefully, before it hit her that she didn’t know if anyone mentioned in that sentence was still alive. She had tried calling Mossy a few times over the past couple of weeks but had received no response each time. 

 

“Well, try to curb your enthusiasm nonetheless.” Pearl said as the ship settled on the sand.

 

Steven moved back to the beach house as well. The work, having largely moved into the realm of waiting on the orb to do its thing, didn’t need all of them at the barn all the time. The estimated total reconstruction time was 3 months, which was much faster than Domina could have hoped. And that meant time with Steven when they were actually awake and capable of manipulating physical objects. Which is how she and Steven ended up sitting next to each other on the floor in front of his tv watching a video recording called ‘Lonely Blade’

 

“I guess Pearl’s not wrong, it’s highly impractical, but I imagine it would still be possible to perform boomerang blade.” Domina said licking the popcorn salt off of her fingers. It wasn't too late, after dinner, early evening. The rest of the gems had just retired into the temple and Domina and Steven were still discussing if they were going to sleep on the Styx or in the beach house. 

“I managed to kind of do that with a holopearl once. It was a broom though.” Steven said. 

“Hm, well then it should definitely work with a sword. It’s more aerodynamic.” Domina said. The credits began to roll on screen and Domina stacked the bowls to set them in the sink as she had seen Steven do. 

 

“So, what do you wanna do now?” Steven asked, Domina shrugged. 

 

“Up to you.” She said. Steven frowned and looked at a stack of papers by the bed. Domina glanced at it and realized what it was, printouts of the information on corruption that Domina had sent him. There wasn’t much. 

 

Not counting the Earth, corruption had been used on a total of two other planets, both had been due to smaller much less successful rebellions. The process had been entirely successful. Experiments done on the corrupted gems afterwards revealed that their base ‘coding’, for lack of a better word, had been corrupted, hence the name.  

 

“Did you finish those?” She asked. Steven grimaced.

 

“Yeah, they were um...” He looked kind of red and rubbed the back of his neck.

 

“Not very hopeful.” Domina finished for him. Steven nodded.

 

“But... I do have one idea I’d like to try.” He said, hopping up on his bed and picking up a stuffed version of some sort of terrestrial animal wearing a slotted visor. “So, Garnet said that corruption was like a tear in the mind and what that stuff said,” Steven gestured to the pile. “Is basically the same thing.” Domina nodded. 

 

“And you said you could heal them physically though, just not the mental part?” Domina said, thinking back to the various conversations the two had had over the past year. Steven nodded.

 

“Yeah, but with Centi it only lasted for... maybe an hour?” he said rubbing his temples. 

 

“The corruption probably overrode what you did.” Domina said with a frown.

 

“Do you think you could do something with your mind powers?” Steven asked. Domina tensed. That would be the most straightforward answer.

 

“I... could try,” Domina said slowly. Steven looked at her hopefully. “But I might end up causing more damage,” The hopeful look went away. “I’m not particularly skilled with that power, which is mostly my own fault, but it’s hard to practice when the only way to do so is to mess with the minds of gems.” And to warp their gems, and to leave her mark that someone made the mistake of interacting with White Diamond. To give people a legitimate reason for fearing her. It wasn’t worth it.

 

Steven rubbed his chin in thought and put the stuffed animal down.

 

“Well we could try a different way. I helped Kiki in her dreams one time. What if we....” He trailed off and looked thoughtfully at the bear again.

 

“If we go into their dreams?” Domina asked with a frown. “Steven, Gems don’t normally sleep, or dream.”

 

“I know that. But I don’t think they would have to be asleep. And you could come with me.”

 

“I don’t know that I’d be much use.” Domina said “I can’t heal or anything.”

 

“No, but you can um... be extra muscle in case things go wrong?” Steven said. Domina looked at Steven, looked down at herself, and then back at Steven.

 

“Alright sure, ‘muscle’. When do you want to do this?” she laughed.

 

“Well how about now?”

 

“I...guess so. Do you have a gem in mind?” Domina asked. Steven nodded and started heading towards the warp pad. 

 

“I told Centipeetle I’d help her. And she’s friendly, so that should help,” He said. He climbed on the warp pad and looked at Domina. Domina sighed and followed him. 

 

“Please tell me you’re not going to make a habit of going on secret missions with Diamonds in the middle of the night.” Domina said. Steven warped them away and Domina clenched her eyes closed. This wasn’t as bad as the moon, she had a lot of experience with warp pads, but the feeling of floating was still enough to make her stomach churn.

 

“It’s not the middle of the night, and this is different, me and Amethyst go to see the centipeetles all the time.” Steven said.

 

“Centipeetles are corrupted nephrites, right?” Domina asked. Her feet hit the receiving warp pad and she opened her eyes as the warp steam dissipated around them. They were back at the drop ship landing point, where Domina had landed a year ago, the first time she had visited Earth. How things had changed.

 

“I think so.” Steven said, walking towards the derelict drop ship. The whole area was heavily overgrown. Domina carefully stepped over roots and rocks as she followed him. When she had landed the first time, she hadn’t realized, but this area was strangely quiet for a place on Earth. It was as if the area had been abandoned by all sentient life. 

 

Steven opened the door and Domina followed him into the ship. This drop ship type had been phased out of use by the fleet by the time Domina had been born. But, she still recognized similarities in the design, the generally round shape, the geometric paneling, the trio of arthropodic monsters hanging from the ceiling. 

 

Domina yelped in surprise and the heads of the corrupted Nephrites swung towards them. Steven grinned.

 

“Hi guys!” He said as they scuttled to the ground. One of them, a slightly darker green from the rest, made a series of squawks and clicking noises at him as it wrapped it’s segmented body around him like some kind of hug. “Sorry, I didn’t bring any Chaaaaps with me this time.” The other two creatures moved towards Domina, inspecting her. Domina could see acid dripping from their mouths, and onto the floor of the ship, where it burned holes in the metal beneath.

 

“Uh.. Steven?” Domina said staying absolutely rigid. “Are you sure these mon- gems are safe?” One of the nephrites nudged her torso with its beak and she tried to reconcile this creature with the nephrites she had grown up around. The ones that cracked jokes about weaving through asteroid belts. The ones that taught her to fly. It was one thing to read about corruption, it was another to see this. 

 

“Yeah! They’re nice.” Steven said. He gestured to Domina. “Guys, this is Domina, she’s a friend. Domina, this is Centi,” He smiled awkwardly “I don’t know their actual names though.” Domina nodded and bowed slightly to the nephrites. 

 

“Well, let’s see if we can fix that.” Domina said. 

 

“Right!” Steven said. He hopped to a flat spot on the far side of the ship and sat with his back against the wall. “I hope I can get to sleep,” He said. “I should have brought a blanket or something.” Domina chuckled and sat next to him, leaning back. 

 

“Well I can sleep anywhere.” She said closing her eyes. “So take your time.” 

 

Moments later, nothing much had changed. Domina was standing in the gem ship. Steven was next to her. But Domina could no longer smell the dirt around them or feel the heat of the jungle. She blinked and the world sharpened around her as she began to notice the inconsistencies within the dream, most notably that there were no centipeetles. 

 

“Uh... well this might be a problem.” Steven said. 

 

“Maybe they’re outside?” Domina asked, “Or another part of the ship?”

 

“Maybe...” Steven said, looking around the ship. The scene shifted and suddenly the ship was pristine, maybe only a few hundred years old. There was a nephrite wearing a White Diamond insignia at a console. “Hey!” Steven said, the nephrite didn’t acknowledge their presence. Domina frowned. “Um, hi?” Steven asked again. Still no response.

 

“I don’t think she can hear us Steven.” Domina said. The door behind them opened and from the outside, they could hear the sound of shouting and ships taking off. 

 

“4WQ, we have to go!” The nephrite said, stumbling in from the outside.

 

“Did you see the captain?” The nephrite at the console asked, her singular eye looked through Domina and Steven as if they weren’t there.

 

“No, no ones seen her. Hessonite just gave the final order.”

 

“They’re talking about Centi.” Steven explained. Domina nodded, she had figured as much. The two nephrites continued to talk, debating if they could go looking for the ship’s captain. Domina walked over to the door, her feet didn’t echo against the floor, but she still could open the door. “Wait, where are you going?” Steven asked. Domina frowned and stepped outside. It was chaos, gems running every which way amongst the trees, ships taking off, some not quite making it too far out before they were shot down by lights from cannons. War, actual war. Steven froze behind her.

 

“This isn’t real,” Domina said, whether she was trying to reassure Steven or herself remained to be seen. 

 

“Right.” Steven said. “We can wake up when we need to leave, at any time.” 

 

“Right.” Domina said, something about this made her uneasy though. A group of quartzes barrelled towards them and Steven attempted to throw up his bubble, only for nothing to happen. Domina grabbed him and pulled him out of the way.

 

“My powers aren’t working!”

 

“Maybe the rules here are different.” Domina reassured him. That had to be it, right? All they had to do was wake up and everything would be alright.  “Steven, we need to wake up.”

 

“Yeah!” He closed his eyes and tensed, but nothing happened. Domina tried as well, still nothing.

 

“Shards,” She cursed. The last ship behind them took off, leaving nothing but the nephrite’s drop ship. Before either of them could think of a plan, there was a flash of light. 

 

“Oh no.” Steven said. The light washed over them and Domina winced. It was as bright as staring into a sun, though it gave off no heat. And it was loud. A kind of loud that Domina didn’t so much hear as feel reverberating in her forehead, right behind her gem. Three notes, played over and over again. But they were drowned out by Steven’s scream of pain. Domina couldn’t open her eyes, but she could feel something digging into her arm, biting it, burning it.

 

And then she was awake. Acid ate through her jacket, burning her arm from where the corrupted nephrite had nipped at her to get her to wake up.

 

But Steven’s screaming hadn’t stopped.

  
  



	24. XXIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! I don't have a whole lot to say today about the chapter. though I did lie when I said I was excited about friday's chapter and today's. I'm also excited about the next...3? something big's coming guys. I hope you like it. Thank you everyone for the lovely reviews, you make my day!
> 
> Squish once again proved invaluable in betaing this chapter, and helping me figure out how the frack to use a semicolon
> 
> anyway here's today's chapter I'll see you all friday!

“Blue, you need to keep your stance wide. This is fighting, not dancing!” White said

 

“Psh, you’re one to talk, P.” Amethyst said from her place next to Pink. “Most of what you do is dancing.” From behind them, on the other side of the watery pillar, Pink could hear Yellow snort.

 

“Amethyst, stay out of this.” White frowned at her and then turned back to Blue who had lowered her axe to take a breath. This was what the evenings had been like since they had finished work on the ship. Blue did seem to be getting better, better than Pink anyway, who still found that the practice sword didn’t feel comfortable in her hand. She was still doing light years better than Yellow, who had refused to learn to fight at all. 

 

“Alright, I’m ready,” Blue said, resuming her stance. Her voice was still soft but it had regained a lightness about it that Pink hadn’t heard in centuries. “Again, White.”

 

White moved back into her stance as effortlessly as if she had been made for it. She lunged forward, parried the arc of Blue’s axe and paused at the sound of a knock on the temple door. Maybe knock wasn’t quite the right word. Someone was pounding on the temple door, frantically. 

 

“Help! Someone!” Domina’s muffled voice came through the door. Pink Pearl beat White to the entrance and Domina nearly fell into the room. “It’s Steven, he-” White vaulted over them, followed quickly by Amethyst and then Garnet who Pink hadn’t even recalled seeing in the room in the first place. 

 

Pink glanced over Domina as she moved past her with Blue and Yellow. Domina didn’t seem interested in the bite and acid burns on her arm, or the blood on her shirt. Domina moved out of the way and sagged to the floor against one of the crystals that jutted from the warp pad. The hollow look in her eyes was something Pink hadn’t seen since Vitus died.

 

“Domina, what happened?” Pink asked as the gems panicked over Steven who was apparently not waking up. Domina looked at her, but her eyes didn’t focus. 

 

“I’m sorry, I had to.” She shook her head and mumbled.

 

“Yo, what happened?” Amethyst asked.  Pink saw Domina flinch at the diminutive quartz’s words. Amethyst looked uncharacteristically serious, like a proper quartz protecting one of her own.

 

“I... he said it would be safe. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was the only thing I could think to do. I’m sorry.” Domina babbled.

 

Steven had been set on the couch in the living room and Pink could see White going through a flurry of activity only to stop. Curious, Pink got up to look. Steven was unconscious. He had numerous bruises and several scars but they were healing, rapidly. Strangely enough, he now had a clump of hair that had turned pink, a shade relatively close to the color of her own. Pink Pearl’s eyes settled on Steven’s gem and she sucked in a breath as she realized why there was the change.

 

The warping of a gem was something that was rarely commented upon in polite circles; it was something few paid much attention too. Some even wore it with a badge of pride. It was, after all, a hazard of interacting with White Diamond.  Steven’s gem wasn’t quite warped, not in the sense her own was, but a small section of it’s edge, perhaps a centimeter square, had been discolored. 

 

“What. Did. You. Do,” White said turning around to face Domina. 

 

“Pearl, let her explain.” Garnet said. White didn’t pay attention. She strode forward, towards Domina, who scrambled to her feet.

 

“I had to!”

 

“Had to do what? Alter his mind? How dare you! He trusted you!” White drew her spear. 

 

“White, calm down.”  Pink said, scurrying to move in front of the irate Pearl.

 

“Do not tell me to calm down! Stop protecting her! Whose side are you on Pink?!” White said. Her voice was angry but there was a tinge of desperation there. Pink froze but shook off her shock. Now was not the time to start wondering that. She stayed in front of White and turned to look at Domina. 

 

“Domina, tell them what happened. Now.” 

****

The story came out like water out of a faucet; the decision to go into the nephrite’s mind, the memory of the corruption, watching Steven’s body bend in ways it wasn’t supposed to. Panicking, knowing she had to do something, trying to straighten the jagged edges spreading, turning her friend’s memories into unrecognizable monstrosities, only to make it worse. 

 

“And so I just tore at it,” Domina said, she stared at the floor unable to look anyone in the eye. “I tore every bit of it I could find and... it stopped.” Pearl still stood in front of her, between her and the Renegade. Why Pearl would bother to protect her, Domina didn’t know.  “I swear. I would never hurt Steven. I didn’t want to do that to him but... it was all I could think to do. I’m sorry.” Domina said hazarding a glance at The Renegade. There was silence as everyone relaxed for the most part. The Renegade dismissed her spear and went back to Steven’s side.

 

Domina went back to the Styx and began to take care of her arm. 

 

“You’re wrapping that too tight.” Pearl said. Domina looked up, startled, then looked down at the bandage and shrugged.

 

“Probably.” She said. Pearl moved to take the bandage from her, presumably to redo it but Domina pulled away. “It’s alright. I’ve got it.” She saw Pearl’s face flicker with worry, or maybe fear, and Domina felt a pang of guilt. Pearl should not be worried about her. She wasn’t worth worrying about.

 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Pearl said, finally. She sat, not next to her like she might have before all of this started. Instead she sat opposite of her.

 

“How is it not?” Domina asked, cutting the bandage and securing it. “I should have told him no. We shouldn’t have gone alone. It was a horrible idea from start to finish.”

 

“But you couldn’t have know what was going to happen.” Pearl said. Domina looked at her and shook her head. 

 

“It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have gone.” 

 

“You told him you’d try to help heal corruption.”

 

“I did and now I have no idea how that’s going to work.” Domina put the medical supplies away. “He’s the only one that can do this and if I can’t protect him then...” Domina sighed and sat back on the bed, raking her hands through her hair. Pearl placed a hand on her head and carefully cleared the hair from her gem. Domina resisted the urge to hug her or to switch beds and let herself be comforted.

 

“You’ll think of something.” she said.

 

“And if I don’t?” 

 

“Then someone will. You don’t have to do it all on your own.” Pearl said, there was a note of hesitation in her voice. “I promise Domina, I’m here.” Domina chuckled softly and looked at Pearl.

 

“You don’t have to be, but thank you.” She said.

 

The next morning, the beach house was empty. Domina crept up the stairs to Steven’s room. He was asleep and looked much better in the early morning light than he had the night before. His hair was still discolored and Domina was pretty sure it was going to be like that forever. She was about to leave, to go find somewhere to hide herself for the day, when the door to the temple opened. Domina froze, assuming it was going to be The Renegade.

 

“Just me.” Garnet said, holding up the hand with the sapphire.

 

“Oh, I was just... checking on him.” Domina said awkwardly. She didn’t know which of the Crystal Gems to be more hesitant about at this point really. At least the permafusion wasn’t pointing a weapon at her.

 

“I know,” Garnet said. She stepped on to the warp pad. 

 

“Where are you going?” Domina asked

 

“There’s something going on near an old battlefield.” Garnet paused and adjusted her glasses. “Come with me, I think it’s about time we talked.”


	25. XXV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So this chapter actually knocks us off a bit off schedule but I've been getting kind of carried away. Also this Garnet chapter has been a long time coming and I know people were looking forward to it. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint! This week I also wrote a oneshot called ["Emergence" ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13966653) you might want to check out if you like reading me being mellow dramatic and writing about diamonds. I would be really interested to see what you guys think is about to go down in about *glances at notes* 3 chapters. or who knows maybe two depending how monday's goes. As always thank you so much for every comment and kudos everyone leaves. You all are awesome.
> 
> enjoy the chapter, See you monday!

Domina didn’t have much experience with garnet’s. She had only met a few while she was with Yellow on Homeworld. From what she had seen, they were dramatic, cunning, and boisterous. Garnet was none of these things. She was something entirely new. 

 

Both of them were quiet in the warp stream. Domina kept her eyes closed trying to figure out why the permafusion had asked her to come along. Was ‘we need to talk,’ a good thing or a bad thing,especially considering what had just transpired. They both landed on the receiving pad and Domina opened her eyes, intending to take a moment to steady her nerves. Instead she gasped. 

 

Steven had told her about the strawberry battlefield, and explained what strawberries actually were. But this isn’t what she was expecting. Battlefields didn’t stick around in the empire. Places where troops had to be deployed were quickly overtaken with the next stage of colony production, usually terra formars before the fleet moved in to do whatever was necessary. But this... this place, with the weapons discarded and stretching into the air, interspersed with chunks of debris and so many red fruited plants that the air was heavy with their smell.

 

“Woah.” she said breathlessly, before quickly following Garnet off the pad. 

 

“There's a corrupted gem about a mile from here.” The fusion said. Domina nodded. They walked in silence for a while, Domina definitely didn't know what words should break the silence, and Garnet was as inscrutable as ever.

 

Finally, she broke.

 

“I’m sorry, you must think I’m a monster.” Domina glanced at Garnet. The gem didn’t pause, she seemed to be waiting for something more. Domina felt an uneasy pit in her stomach, Garnet had never had much interest in her before, an odd word here, a disapproving look there, she knew that the fusion must not care for her at all. “I mean.. I would hate me in your position.” She said, still no reaction from Garnet.  “Between the thing with the fusion on Homeworld, how I treated Pearl, just showing up after all of this expecting you all to help, and then... doing that to Steven.” Domina trailed off, trying not to think about the jaggedness and discordant edge to Steven’s memories.

 

“You’re not what I expected.” Garnet finally said. Domina looked at her startled and see the hint of a smile on Garnet’s face.

 

“Not even with your sapphire’s vision?”

 

“It’s not all knowing. Surely you’ve worked with sapphires before, you know that.” Garnet said.

 

“Yes, but, who were you expecting then, my mother? That’s what most people expect.” Domina said with a frown.

 

“I wasn’t expecting you to be so desperate.” Garnet said, Domina stumbled over a discarded chunk of rubble.

 

“What do you mean?” She said with a nervous chuckle. “I’m not desperate.” 

 

“You are, you look at everyone trying to make them happy, trying to make people like you, trying to make every possibility work. Even the ones that can’t coexist together.” 

 

“Well who wouldn’t? I like to keep my options open.” Domina said with a uneasy shrug. ”And it’s not about making people like me. It’s about making sure they’re not afraid of me. If they forget I’m a diamond for a bit they’re willing to talk and that’s so much better than being feared.” She turned to look at Garnet directly. “It’s easier when they don’t know who I am. Do you know how hard it is to get rubies to talk to you when they know you’re a diamond?”

 

“No.”

 

“Right, well trust me. It’s hard, and if we through these stupid mind altering powers on top of it...” Domina trailed off

 

“Your abilities aren’t a bad thing.”

 

“How is going into peoples heads without their permission and pick and choose what they remember not a bad thing?”

 

“You used it to save Steven.”

 

“I...I did, but I shouldn’t have let him fall into that situation in the first place.” 

 

“You cannot blame yourself for that, I know how convincing Steven can be.” Garnet said “More likely he would have attempted it on his own and...” Garnet stopped and adjusted her glasses. “You’re trying and that's more than any of the other diamonds have been willing to attempt.”  Domina shrugged and opened her mouth to respond only to be cut off by Garnet pulling her behind a pile of rubble.

 

“What is it?” Domina asked peeking around the chunks of metal. Ahead of them were two corrupted gems. They were bipedal and a practically transparent green with feathered wings twice their size at the ends of which rest their hands. “Oh, apatites” Domina said noticing their square cut gems.. She attempted to disregard the unease she had about these particular corrupted gems. Apatites were surveyors and cartographers, there had been one with the fleet, 1KL, who taught Domina most of the control she had with her aerokinesis.

“So what?” Domina asked lowly, reaching her hand towards her gem. “How does this work? You take the one on the right, I take the one on the left?”

 

“You’ll want the right one,” Garnet said. “The one on the left is going to take off the moment we show ourselves.”

 

“Can you jump that high?” Domina asked, her stomach was already churning.

 

“I can if you can’t fly.”

 

“I’ll get it.” Domina said, She drew her sword, it felt good, right. It had been far too long since she had held it. Garnet smiled cryptically, and summoned her gauntlets.

 

“After you.” Garnet said. Domina took a deep breath and vaulted over their cover. Both apatites looked at her and, just as Garnet said, the one on the left shot up with a single wing beat. 

 

Domina lept into the air. The winds collected underneath her as stable as any piller, her eyes were focused above at the apatite who dove and weaved out of her reach. Domina drew a second sword with a practiced maneuver. All her unease was pushed out by the adrenaline and for that moment Domina was just glad to be flying again.

 

The apatite let out a roar as it finally decided that it had had enough of being the prey in this situation. It abruptly turned and dove towards her, snapping it’s toothy jaws. Domina pushed herself further up and landed on one of the floating land masses. Below she could see dust clouds forming and lightning striking as Garnet battled with her own corrupted gem. She seemed to be having much better luck. 

 

The apatite landed in front of her. Domina took a step back to the edge to re adjust her footing. In that brief moment of inaction the Gem rushed her and knocked Domina back. She fell. She would have kept falling if it wasn’t for the claws digging into the cuff of her pants. 

 

This left Domina upside down, dangling over open air, with her fight or flight response shifting strongly towards ‘panic and do nothing’. And once again, the world stopped. 

 

She was in the void of memories yet again, her gem burning. But it wasn’t quiet. Before, when she had been trying to save Steven, she had been to busy panicking to notice anything but the task at hand. Now though, when the only life in danger was her own, Domina could hear something. It wasn’t quite a song, more like a collection of notes that were trying to be a song. They were the same ones she had heard in the nephrite’s dreamscape, the corruption but, more... complete. The notes wove in between the jagged memories, completely covering them. 

 

Domina didn’t change anything. Instead she pulled herself out of the metaphorical void, and resumed dangling over the real one. Domina saw the ground miles below and screamed. The winds came back again shoving the apatite forward  and sending them both tumbling into open air.

 

Domina lashed out, more as a reflex in an attempt to regain balance than an actual attack and sent her sword shooting through the apatites chest. The creature let out a screech either of pain or indignation before it dissipated, leaving it’s gem falling with Domina. 

 

She grabbed it in a brief flash of realization that  that was what she was supposed to be doing in the first place, then turned her attention to the much more pressing matter. In an act of impulse and desperation, Domina made a cushion. She forced the air underneath her to allow her body to slow until she was at a safe enough speed. Then, Domina rolled when she hit the ground. 

 

“Nice work.” Garnet said standing over her. Domina looked up at the fusion who had contained her corrupted apatite. A quick tap on the top of the bubble and the gem was gone, presumably stored somewhere safe. Domina dug out the other apatites gem in a daze and handed it to Garnet for her to repeat the process. She was ok. She had fallen and she was ok. 

 

Steven was waiting for them when they warped in.

 

“Hey guy’s good mission?” Steven asked with a grin, the only evidence of the night before was the still present pink patch in his hair. 

 

“It went well, Domina fought a corrupted gem all by herself.” Garnet said. 

 

“Awesome! Wish I had been there,”

 

“Eh you would have been bored.” Garnet tousled his hair. “It was too easy.” Domina smiled. Garnet went into the temple soon after, leaving her and Steven alone.

 

“So uh... Pearl told me what happened.” Steven said awkwardly. 

 

“I thought she might... I’m sorry.” Domina tried not to stare at the pink in stevens hair.

 

“Why? It’s ok!” He said. “I mean, it’s kind of weird not being able to remember a whole two hours but that’s better than being corrupted.” Steven fiddled with his pink curls. “And this is kind of cool,” Domina could tell his heart wasn’t in it. “But Sabina has always said that she’d help me dye my hair if I want so..” Domina raked a hand through her own hair, it was still uneven, she had managed to avoid Pearl’s plans to fix it so far. 

 

“You want to go get some fries?” Domina asked awkwardly. Steven’s smile returned.

 

“Yeah come on, I wanna hear about the mission you went on with Garnet, where was it? Was there weird old gem stuff? What kind of gem did you fight?” Steven asked as they exited the beach house. And for a moment, life almost felt normal.


	26. XXVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof chapter a little late this week, I've got some kind of weird illness going on but meh. So more new rebellion stuff this chapter, an update on a few characters and the start.. or really like middle, of another mini arc. Hopefully you guys enjoy! This chapter was beta'd as always by Squish who makes sure that my stuff is actually understandable.
> 
> See you friday!

"Omega base seven dot nine three two. We are transmitting to confirm channel security. Please respond.” Blue Pearl said from her place inside the wailing stone’s transmitter. There was the briefest moment of silence before Red’s voice sounded through the receiver

 

“Hey Blue, Red here, the channel is secure. How are things there?” Red asked eagerly. The wailing stone had been set back up in the living room, though it was just Pink, White and herself this time. Garnet and Amethyst had gone on a mission, Steven and Connie were off somewhere in town. Yellow and Domina had been sent to the barn by a pleading look from Pink Pearl to Domina. Blue Pearl would rather have a final plan, one that had been agreed upon by the rest of the rebellion, before she started talking to Domina. As for Yellow... she had never trusted Yellow with anything regarding the rebellion. Yellow was still loyal to her Diamond, she always had been the perfect model of a pearl. And she had no doubts that if Yellow Diamond was aware of what they were planning, she wouldn’t hesitate to put a stop to it.

 

“We’re fine.” Blue said “The ship is estimated to be complete in three months.”

 

“Wow, that’s fast.”

 

“Yes, well, we’ve discovered some unique skills here,” Blue smiled softly. She had to remember, some pearls rebelled with swords, others with information. “Any updates from you before we get to business?”

 

“Oh yeah, so...” there was the shuffle of holoscreens. “We’ve heard from Jet. Well, not heard from her, but we intercepted a report about a disturbance at a harvesting facility. This was followed by a Homeworld shuttle being hijacked. Then, several more reports involving sabotaged bridges. And then some key communication systems went down. Then, a spire collapsed, we’re pretty sure it was her Jet’s spire.” Blue blinked and looked over at Pink and White on the couch who looked equally startled.

 

“Well, she’s been busy.”

 

“Yeah, she has. That does actually take her off the list for whoever is taking out the warp networks. They’re working in the inner planets now, but skirting Homeworld. We’re not entirely sure where they’re headed, but whenever they pop up, it temporarily pulls the local warp network offline, and usually knocks out the power grid for a few days.” Red said, Blue frowned slightly and looked at the other two pearls, both of which shrugged.

 

“Odd, see if we can get more people to look into that. Anything else?” Blue asked

 

“Uh, other things...” There was the sound of more holoscreens sorting, then a door opening. Red started talking to someone they couldn’t hear. She must have stuck her head out of the transmission stream because the words were slightly muffled. “What is it? Oh, talking with Blue. Um, sure, I guess.”  Her voice faded back in. “Hey, um, Mauve wants to talk to you.” Blue saw Pink smile.

 

“Hello Blue,” Mauve said, her voice somehow still soft despite the amplification. “It seems that the events you wished to set in motion have begun much quicker than anyone intended.”

 

“It does.” Blue said. “We were glad to hear that you uh... came back together.” There was a soft chuckle.

 

“Yes, is Pink there?”

 

“She is.”

 

“Well then, Pink, give my thanks to the new Diamond,” Mauve said. Pink frowned, and moved towards the wailing stone. Blue changed places with her.

 

“What do you mean, Mauve?” Pink asked. There was a beat of static.

 

“She... well perhaps... no... hindsight may not be my area of expertise but Pearl did overhear the guards discussing that her and Sapphire sharing a transport was an order that had come down from the top. That, combined with some quick thinking, allowed me to reform and escape.”

 

****

 

Yellow Pearl didn’t know why it should be different now. Blue had never trusted her. Sure, they were on a completely different planet, and she had never shown interest, nor anything aside from outright rejection about Blue’s rebellion, but surely all that didn’t mean she had to be absent for whatever discussion went on with their new ‘allies’.  Of course, they had kicked out White Diamond as well.

 

“Why do you think she’s taking so long?” White Diamond’s voice shocked Yellow out of her thoughts. The diamond didn’t seem to be angry or particularly curious, more so worried than anything. Yellow thought it was rather a stupid question. Did she really forget the conversation she had had with Yellow Diamond on the moon base?

 

“I’m sure my Diamond is just taking her time.” Yellow Pearl said, not a complete lie. She sunk her hand into the reformation orb and briefly scanned the code. It was right on schedule. White Diamond was actually in the hallway just outside. She was setting up some of the equipment from her own ship for her and Steven’s use on the trip to the Omega quadrant.

 

“I hope so.” White Diamond murmured softly. Yellow blinked the lines of text from her eyes to see White Diamond giving her a conspiratorial grin. . “Think she’ll get rid of those shoulder pads?”

 

“Stars, I hope so.” Yellow Pearl muttered. She thought it had been quiet enough that White Diamond hadn’t heard but a laugh proved her wrong.

 

“How long has she had those anyway?” White Diamond asked, finishing up her task.

 

“A little under five thousand years.” The fading smile told Yellow that White Diamond had realized the significance.

 

“She... really did look up to my mother then, didn’t she?” White Diamond said, getting to her feet. Yellow Pearl nodded and followed White Diamond out of the repairing ship.

 

Outside was a combustion based vehicle that Yellow recognized as belonging to Sabina. This wasn't the dual wheeled one; this one was clearly meant for hauling goods. Sabina and Peridot were lifting parcels of metal and other things Yellow couldn’t recognize out of it’s trunk.

 

“What’s going on?” White Diamond jogged over to them and started helping unload the vehicle. Yellow trailed behind and took the box labeled ‘Magnets’ from White Diamond, who simply grabbed another.

 

“Lapis has retrieved my limb enhancers and I believe now is the opportune time to make improvements!” The traitorous Peridot said, leading the way into the barn. There was the sound of someone snoring up above, and the sound of a recording playing. “Lapis! We’re back!” Peridot shouted. The snoring paused briefly and a blue hand hung down from the loft of the barn, giving them a thumbs up. Sabina chuckled then whistled when she saw what was on the workbench.

 

“Uh... are you sure these are fixable?” Sabina asked.

 

“Yikes.” White Diamond muttered, picking up one of the errant touch stumps that had been pitted by... was that salt?

 

“Where were these?” Yellow Pearl asked.

 

“Underwater for a little over two years.” the Lapis’ voice drifted down from upstairs. Apparently, she hadn’t just returned to sleep.

 

“Wow...” Sabina said picking up an arm cuff that was completely dented and folded in half.

 

“Yes, I have no need for them as height augments. But the internal circuitry should prove helpful in designing apparatus that are more fitting to my new found abilities!” Yellow Pearl rolled her eyes at the peridot's ranting and took a step back. She braced for some kind of comment from anyone present then, and when none came, retreated from the barn to take another look at the ship.

 

There was something amazing about it. The ship was the first thing she had really helped to build, the first time she had shown off a skill outside of what was approved for pearls to know how to do. And something stirred inside her when she looked at it. Pride, perhaps?

 

“Hey, Yellow!” Sabina called from the barn. Yellow Pearl jumped. Frack, had they actually needed her there? Would White Diamond tell her Diamond that she had been shirking in her duty even more? What were the rules here? “Do you know anything about cognitive vestibular control?”

 

“I uh... may have... once briefly read something.” Yellow lied, remembering the multi-file dissertation on limb enhancer interface.

 

“So... yes? Can you give us some input? We could use your help.” Sabina asked with a grin, not mocking, just friendly. She could see the appeal she held for White, even if she wasn’t particularly her type.

 

“I... of course!” she said. Yes, it was definitely pride she was feeling.

  
  



	27. XXVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! remember that chapter I've been really excited to write?! well here it is!! I can't wait to hear what you all think. I don't want to give away too much so I'll stop talking about it now.  
> Squish did a fantastic job getting this chapter into readability so thanks so much to her there. If you check out the blog this week (under my pile of rambling about the new episodes and musings about the chapter) you'll find a picture I did of Domina and White Diamond. 
> 
> anyway enjoy!
> 
> see you monday.

Two hours later the components for Peridot's limb enhancers had been re-assembled into Peridot's first prototype. Domina was continually being astounded by Yellow Pearl’s wealth of knowledge. Surely, Yellow Diamond had to know something about this. How could Yellow Pearl just keep this all hidden? Then again, Domina had to remind herself that not everyone adhered to the system as loosely as those in the fleet, especially not Yellow Diamond.

 

They stayed and chatted for a while, Yellow Pearl, slowly warming up to the group.  It wasn’t until they were getting ready to leave that Domina paid attention to the nagging thought in the back of her mind.

 

“Sabina may I ask you something?” Domina approached the woman, fiddling with the edge of her shirt.

 

“Sure, what’s up?” Sabina asked slamming the gate on her vehicle’s trunk. Domina could see that Yellow Pearl was waiting on her, off to the side, not unlike her pink counterpart. Domina would tell her to go but... really, was that fair to Yellow? She had already been kicked out of the call to the rebellion’s base. Still, Domina really didn’t want to make this any more awkward than it already was.

 

“I... Steven has said in the past that your pink hair isn’t natural and that you chemically alter its pigment.” She started. Sabina smiled broadly and nodded.

 

“Sure can.”

 

“Well, I was wondering if it was possible to only do that for humans with lower amounts of pre-existing pigment or if-”

 

“If it was possible to bleach a section of hair, maybe about yea big?” Sabina interrupted her, gesturing to her hair roughly in the same spot where Steven’s hair was discolored. Domina’s embarrassment overshadowed her irritation about being interrupted.

 

“I- yes.”

 

“Yeah, it’s doable. You want me to do it for you?” Sabina asked, she seemed eager.

 

“If... though I suppose it’s a bit ridiculous.” Domina muttered. It wasn’t as if temporarily modifying her hair was going to make up for what she did to Steven.

 

“Nah.” Sabina said. “An empathetic gesture is always worth doing. Steven’ll appreciate it too.” Sabina gestured to the truck behind her. “If you’re not doing anything, we can do this now.”

 

“...Alright.” Domina said.

 

“Sweet.” Sabina grinned “Hop in then. You coming too Yellow?” Domina gave the pearl her best ‘up to you’ shrug.

 

“I suppose.” Yellow said nervously.

 

“Awesome.”

 

Sabina’s house was much different than Steven’s. It was divided into many rooms, though Domina could only see glimpses of them from her place in the kitchen. She was sitting in a wooden chair across from Sabina, trying to stay still as the woman applied a foul smelling paste to the front of her hair. Yellow Pearl looked on with a combination of horror and fascination.

 

“You’re not attached to this shirt are you?” Sabina asked

 

“Considering it’s one of my last ones, yes, but, no sentimental attachment.” Domina said, she closed her eyes against the harsh fumes of the chemicals.

 

“Well, that we can fix,” Sabina said. Domina could hear her setting down the plastic bowl she was using to hold the compound. “You’re basically just a skinnier version of me, kinda like how my brother is. Anyway, just wanted to be sure, this stuff stains pretty badly and we’re probably going to have to do a few coats.” There was something being wrapped around her hair, carefully avoiding her gem.

 

“Why are you so tall?” Domina asked “I thought it was unusual for humans to be much taller than like... Greg.” She opened her eyes. Sabina nodded and turned to wash her hands.

 

Yeah, I had an issue with my pituitary gland growing up. It basically never gave the shut off orders for the growth hormone, so they had to remove it.” She turned back to the two of them. “Alright, so I gotta ask, what’s it like growing up on a spaceship? Cause that’s the second coolest thing I’ve ever heard.” Domina blinked.

 

“I don’t really have a point of reference to compare it to but... it was nice?” Domina said hesitantly. “I spent about 12 years with the fleet and then 12 years on Homeworld with Yellow.” Domina paused and gestured to Yellow Pearl. “Not um... well kind of.”

 

“I’m surprised that's not more confusing.” Sabina went through the motions she had watched Steven perform in the past to make tea. Filling a kettle, getting out cups, Sabina hesitated and then added a third to the two she had grabbed.

 

“Under normal circumstances...” Yellow Pearl trailed off as she glanced at Domina, who simply gave her an encouraging smile. “We wouldn’t be in a situation where I would be referred to at all.” Sabina’s smile faded slightly.

 

“Right. Do you have a cut number though? Amethyst was telling me she’s like 8xm or something.”

 

“No, no,” Yellow said shaking her head, “Pearls aren’t real gems.”

 

“Bullshit!” Domina said. Both people looked equally startled by Domina’s outburst and she flushed red. “Sorry.”

 

“No, it just didn’t occur to me that you knew that phrase. Continue.” Sabina said, setting down a cup in front of each of them and pulling up a seat to the table. Yellow Pearl eyed the drink and Domina nervously. Domina internally cursed again.

 

“I mean... pearls aren’t ‘real’ gems, in that they’re not made like other gems. They have to be produced individually.” Domina stared at the whorls on on the table, trying not to remember the sound of nursery tanks shattering. “Regular gems are basically just injected into the ground, with a few exceptions. It means you can make a lot of them.”

 

“I know that. I’ve seen Amethyst’s kindergarten.” Sabina said.

 

“So we’re not real gems” Yellow said, there was a hint of irritation in her voice. The words were too close to ‘just a pearl’ for Domina’s liking.

 

“No, I mean yes, ugh.” Domina rubbed the setting of her gem and looked directly at Yellow. The pearl flinched back. “We can make quartzes or spinels or whatever the same way, individually in labs. There’s been trials done, millenia ago, before even Yellow Diamond popped out of her hole. Around the same time they came up with pearls.”

 

“So, why don’t you do that?” Sabina asked.

 

“Because it’s slow. It takes four times the time and three times the material to get a single gem.” Domina said. “But for whatever reason that’s not with pearls.” Yellow Pearl blinked.

 

“Really, where did you read this?” she asked

 

“My mother’s logs.” Domina said. She hadn’t read much from them since the video, but that section she had studied almost religiously when she had found it. “But, none of that means that pearls aren’t gems. They might actually be one of the most flexible gem types ever created, I mean, obviously The Renegade but even you and Blue and Pearl!” Domina said, a slight breeze was running through the room. “You aren’t supposed to be anything more than accessories, but you managed to reprogram one of the most complicated pieces of technology in history. And Blue negotiates as well as any Sodalite I’ve ever met, maybe better!” Domina took a drink of the tea, it was different than what Steven made, more sour. When she stopped to breathe she could see Yellow covering her face, edges of orange creeping from around her fingers. Sabina leaned over and refilled her cup.

 

“And your pearl?” Sabina asked

 

“She’s not really mine.” Domina squirmed uncomfortably.

 

“You know what I mean.” Sabina waved off her protests.

 

“She... I mean she can fly the Styx as well as I can. I’ve seen her make an Emerald cower in her cape, and... she’s put up with all my nonsense for almost 5000 years now, not to mention my mother before that, and Pink diamond before that!” Domina said, “And on top of that she’s been dealing with the rebellion stuff since... since...” Domina glanced at Yellow who looked at her sheepishly.

 

“At least since you were first on Homeworld, White D-....Domina. I apologize, I should have told you.” Yellow Pearl said. Domina smiled, finally some headway with her name.

 

“It’s fine. Thanks for not revealing her like that.” Domina sighed, “She kept at it, and did what she could to help me, to help the rebellion. She’s better than me. We can’t keep treating pearls like they’re inconsequential.” Yellow Pearl’s eyes went wide. And, for a moment, there was silence.

 

“Well, it looks to me like you’ve got a good head start.” Sabina said. She patted Domina on the back. “Let’s wash that out and see if we need to do another application, then I’ll see what I’ve got clothing-wise for you.”

****

Pink Pearl waited with Steven and Connie for Yellow and Domina. The boy had been in contact with White’s ‘girlfriend’ and in a long roundabout conversation, they had decided on regrouping at Greg’s. There, Steven and Connie were going through Greg’s music collection. Pink had heard everything Steven had been sending Domina, and had to admit, a lot of it was quite good. Seeing Blue’s reaction to Earth music, however, was priceless. Especially when Steven, Connie, and Amethyst started dancing.

 

“Quartzes don’t dance.” Blue said softly to White and Pink. White smiled.

 

“Welcome to Earth.” Sabina’s truck pulled up shortly after. And Sabina got out, followed by Yellow and... oh star’s what had she done to her hair?

 

“Domina!” Steven said cheerfully. “Did Sabina dye your hair?” Domina looked at the group, clearly embarrassed and twiddled with the front of her hair. It still had the iridescent quality that the rest of hair had, but now it was almost pure white. She had new clothes too, a pair of slightly baggy jeans and a shirt that was striped from top to bottom, black, grey, white, and purple. She looked much more relaxed than she had the last few days, which was definitely a good sign.

 

“Yes, I um...” Domina looked at Sabina, then awkwardly back at Steven. “I thought we could match.” She finished. Steven looked at Domina then pulled his own section of hair in front of his face to look at it. Then, he nodded.

 

“Yeah, here!” Steven dug his phone out of his pocket. “Take a picture with me?”

 

Off to the side Sabina, Greg and Connie were sorting through the music again.

 

“Oh, Pearl!” Sabina said suddenly. The music had changed to something slower, a song she actually recognized from the small collection that Steven had sent Domina. A slow song about dancing actually, which was a very strange thing to write a song about. White glanced over and went momentarily blue before allowing Sabina to pull her into a dance.

 

“Ugh, she’s so sappy.” Amethyst said in a good-natured tone.

 

“She always has been,” Blue muttered.

 

Yellow leaned over to Pink.

 

“Is she trying to dance?” Yellow asked, gesturing at Domina who was in fact trying to dance, emphasis on ‘trying’. Pink had spent a large portion of Domina’s childhood trying to keep the diamond from copying her and was largely unsuccessful. Domina didn’t so much as dance as vaguely sway in time with the music and occasionally move into forms that were a close match to the ones Pink favored.

 

“Domina, no...” Pink said with a sigh. Domina stopped and blushed as she saw the smiles from Garnet and Amethyst. After a moment of hesitation, Pink went over. What did it matter? It wasn’t as if they were on Homeworld anymore. She adjusted Domina’s feet and hands then led the dance. Domina smiled broader that Pink had seen in a while.  

 

“I thought you were against me dancing?” Domina asked.

 

“I think I’m more against you making a fool of yourself. Then again, with the hair...”

 

“I... thought an empathetic gesture would be nice.” Domina said sheepishly. Pink smiled and shook her head. This was something she should have done a long time ago. And part of her wondered if she was simply too late now.

Should she have shown her attachment earlier? If Domina knew how much she meant to Pink, would she be pushing her away now? If Domina knew how proud Pearl was of her, would she be so hesitant about talking about the motives behind her actions?

 

The music changed to something faster and Pearl picked up the pace to something closer to a swing dance. Usually, she didn’t have anyone to dance with, and this was not perfect by any means, but it was _fun_. Domina laughed as they spun, and Pearl grinned, then pulled her into a dip, only to fall over completely. Domina was much heavier than your average pearl.

 

They collapsed on each other. Domina still laughing and Pearl practically dissolving into giggles. At ease for the first time in so many weeks, her gem was warm as she got to her feet and offered a hand to Domina as she had so many times before.

 

There was a flash of light, and Pink faded away, leaving only Sunstone.

 


	28. XXVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! little bit of a late chapter I have to admit that the new episodes had me very excited and I enjyed them immensely. This chapter is a little short as it kind of wraps up 1 plotline and just in general give us a nice breather. As always this chapter has been beta'd by Squish who I made laugh so hard by various formatting shenanigans that we almost didn't finish the chapter. Just as a heads up all the dialogue in **Bold is Domina** and in _italics is Pearl_
> 
> Hope you enjoy and see you friday!!

Sunstone was sensitive to the sudden state of being. From the hard ground beneath her feet to the sound of the now unattended music still playing, it was all so much. So real. She looked around, three eyes blinking in the evening light, as orange as her skin. The group below her stared up at her in shock, she was as tall as the nearby building.

 

“ **It’s a carwash.** ” She said. Domina definitely remembered Steven telling her about the carwash. Pearl had other things to focus on. “ _Is that really important, we-_ **Fused, yes, I think I figured that out. Who ar-** _We can’t we shouldn’t have!_ ” Sunstone winced, feeling her components reaction to her sudden being. She felt like she was being torn in half.

 

“Hey! It’s alright!” A voice said. **_Garnet_** they supplied. Sunstone looked down and carefully sat as a wave of information about each member of the group poured over her. 

 

“Wow..” said Connie,  **Steven’s friend** ,  _ White’s student _ . Yellow Pearl,  **Yellow’s Pearl** ,  _ worries so much _ , stared at Sunstone in utter horror.

 

“ _I’m sorr-_ **Why are you sorry we didn’t mean t-** _I shouldn’t have let myse-_ **It’s not your fa-** ”

 

“What’s your name?” Garnet asked. In a brief moment, Sunstone could clear her head. This was a task for herself rather than the two components with the conflicting feelings.

 

“Sunstone I... I think gemetically that’s what I am, what I’m supposed to be.” She said. There was an unease from inside of her. “ _We’re not supposed to be anything, we’re not supposed to-_ **It’s fine we, she is not us-** _A diamond and a Pearl shouldn’t be able to-_ **but we did! I’m not full diamon-** _Even more reason this shouldn’t have worke-”_

 

“Sunstone, don’t worry about them. And don’t worry about what your supposed to be, you’re fine just the way you are.” Garnet said calmly. 

 

“But I- **No it’s fine, please don’t worry”** Sunstone clutched her head in pain. There was so much everything, it was too loud inside of her, she could feel her voice splitting, garbling. “ _This is my_ ** _fault!_** _No, it’s_ **mine, I keep** ** _ruining th- You haven’t_** _ruined anything! I-_ **You don’t need me-** _Yes I do. You keep pu_ ** _shing- I’m_** **not trying to I-** **_No, I underst_** \- No y ** _ou don’t-_** ”  Around her, people began to back up. It was just her voice now, her gems were burning, pulling, trying to break apart, to get away from each other, to avoid causing any more damage. And in one final moment the voices of Sunstone’s components shouted in unison. “ ** _YOU’RE BETTER OFF WITHOUT ME!_** ”

 

And then in a flash of light, as quickly as she had appeared, Sunstone was gone.

****

 

Domina rocketed backwards in an arc. This time, instead of rolling when she hit the ground, she slid backwards on the concrete. The intermix of feelings from Sunstone lingered, leaving an indentation in her mind.  It was a feeling that she had made more of a mistake than she had realized. 

 

“Pearl, I-” Domina started as she got to her feet. Opposite of her, Pearl had already staggered to her feet. She stared at Domina with an expression of total loss before turning and taking off at a dead run towards the temple. Domina was rooted to the spot, still trying to process the left over feelings from Sunstone. Pearl thought she was going to replace her? How in stars name had she come up with that?

****

Pink Pearl didn’t know where she was going. She just knew she had to get away from the car wash, the group, Domina. She couldn’t believe it. Could Domina really believe that she was going to leave her behind after all this time? Could Domina really believe that she was ashamed of her, that Pink hadn’t forgiven her for what had happened on Homeworld?

 

She rounded the corner of the hill and stopped in front of the temple. Where was she even going? What was she doing? She should go back to Domina, actually talk to her like a sensible gem. But say what? They had both so evidently made up their minds. 

 

****

“Well?” The Renegade asked jolting Domina out of her thoughts.  Domina flinched back. The Renegade didn’t look thrilled, a sight Domina had gotten used to at this point. But The Renegade wasn’t stalking towards her with a spear so that had to mean something. 

 

“Well, what?” Domina asked numbly. “What am I supposed to do?”

 

“Go talk to her!” Steven said. 

 

“I- well yes, obviously I should talk to her. But... shards, talking just messed this up in the first place.” Domina glanced off to the direction Pearl had run to and tried to imagine how that conversation would play out. Probably no better than any of the ones before. 

 

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.” Steven said. He had that look in his eye that clearly said he would not be dissuaded. 

****

Pink ended up on top of the Styx. She felt uncomfortable going back into White’s room, and other than that, it wasn’t as if she had much in the way of options. There was a familiar wind around her and Pink closed her eyes, bracing herself for... exactly what, she didn’t know.

 

“That was um...something.” Domina said, she sat next to Pearl, dangling her legs over the side. “I had no idea that’s what fusion was like.”

 

“I believe that's only normal for heterogeneous fusion.” 

 

“Right... That would make sense. Sort of... did we have three eyes?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Ah.” Domina said. Pearl looked at her and saw her fidgeting awkwardly.

 

“I’m sorry.. I should have been more careful.”

 

“That’s not your fault Pearl, I mean I didn’t really intend to fuse at all. I... never really considered it to be an option but... it was interesting.” Domina said. Pink shook her head.

 

“Good thing Yellow Diamond isn’t around then. You’re getting awfully comfortable with these ‘rebel’ ideas.” Pink said.

 

“Hey now,” Domina smiled at her, the silly teasing kind. “Some of my favorite gems are rebels.”

 

“You really thought I was going to leave you for the rebellion?” Pink asked. 

 

“You thought I was going to replace you.” Domina pointed out.

 

“That’s more believable.”

 

“No, it’s not. I could never...” Domina sighed. “Pearl, you’re the only family I’ve got.” 

 

“Gems don’t have family.” Pearl said. Domina swore she could see a faint smile on her face. 

 

“Bullshit.” Domina said, finishing that one bit of the last conversation they’d had with her father. Pearl laughed slightly. “I wasn’t trying to push you away... ok I was. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay. Pater may have said that I’m supposed to keep you safe, but I mean, you are a fully capable gem.” Domina hesitated and then finally pulled Pearl into a hug. Pearl stiffened for a moment in surprise before hugging back.

 

“I’m staying with you. No matter what.”

 


	29. XXIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late chapter tonight and I am sorry for that, I spent a majority of the day on the road and everything got away from me. I am super excited that everyone liked last weeks chapter! Here's a picture of Sunstone if your interested:  
> 
> 
> If you want to see more bad art by me then feel free to go check out the blog, where you can also find my random ramblings about the series and other stuff.  
> As always the chapter was beta'd by the lovely Squish who made sure that this thing is readable.
> 
> So I hope this chapter was worth the wait and I will see you all monday!!

“I mean the cake sounds delicious, but is there some kind of cultural importance to Lisa and Archamicarus getting married? I mean... their friendship in the books seemed like it was unshakeable. Why was that extra step necessary?” Domina practically shuffled her feet through the sand in an effort not to outpace either Connie or Steven. Connie frowned and adjusted the bag she was carrying with the quartz sword stuck out of the top.

 

“Pandering in an attempt to create a marketable book. Regardless of whether it makes sense when compared to the text’s previous anti-establishment themes.” Connie said. Steven shrugged. 

 

“Well... yeah, but they really liked each other.”

 

“So?” Domina asked, baffled. Connie waved her free hand dismissively and directed a small smile at Steven.

 

“Steven loves schmaltz,” She said. Steven puffed his chest.

 

“Yeah, I do!” He said. 

 

“Whatever,” Domina said, shaking her head. “Anyway, now I’m back to reading the journals.” 

 

“Didn’t you say you weren’t ever going to look at those again?” Connie asked. Domina shrugged awkwardly. 

 

“I say a lot of things.”

 

“Are you practicing with us today?” Steven asked, starting up the steps to the beach house.

 

“Maybe, depends if The Renegade actually wants me around.” Domina reached forward to open the door for them, only to have the handle move as The Renegade opened it from the other side.

 

“You don’t have to call me that.” She said, stepping out on to the porch.

 

“Afternoon, ma’am!” Connie said. 

 

“Connie! I hope you two are ready. It’s looking like it will be quite a group.” The Renegade said, looking at Domina. “I was wondering if we could... talk.” She asked. Domina looked at The Renegade, looked at Steven and Connie, then back to the pearl. 

 

“I...guess?”

 

“Excellent! I was hoping I could ask you a favor.”

****

Checking in on the ship had become somewhat of a habit. Not that there was much to do on that front, but until her Diamond reformed, Yellow Pearl really didn’t have anything else to do. She clearly wasn’t welcome in whatever Blue was planning. And she certainly couldn’t attach herself to Domina. The diamond had made it clear she was uncomfortable having Yellow wait on her, and that she would look foolish doing so. Attempting to associate with the permafusion and the off-color amethyst would probably end badly.

 

So, to the ship she went. Pumpkin often followed her around and the lapis lazuli and peridot seemed to tolerate her presence, though she tried to remain as unobtrusive as possible.  Yellow Pearl returned to the beach house early that day, hoping to find a sunny spot on the hill above the temple and attempt a nap. When she warped into the beach house however, and saw the group assembled for training, Yellow had the sinking suspicion it wasn’t going to be that easy. Before she could step off the warp pad and quickly make an excuse to leave the room, Domina spotted her.

 

“Yellow!” She said enthusiastically. Yellow Pearl stumbled back. Domina was smiling, which was not completely out of the ordinary, though usually her smile wasn’t so mischievous. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a matching one on Pink’s face. Oh no. 

 

“Er... yes? Whi- Domina?” Yellow asked.

 

“I was so excited when I heard that you were going to join in on practice today!”  Domina said.

 

“What?!” Yellow Pearl went rigid. Who in stars’ name had told her that? She looked at White who just smirked back at her, even Blue was holding her hand in front of her mouth, stifling a grin. Suddenly, there was an arm around her shoulder.

 

“This is going to be a lot of fun, don’t you think?” Domina said, looking down at her.

 

“I suppose ‘fun’ is one way to put it, White Diamond.” Yellow Pearl attempted to pull away and Domina quickly withdrew her arm, the smile had faded slightly from her eyes. “But do you really think all of this is,” Yellow looked around at the group, “... appropriate?”  Not that Domina had ever cared about anything being appropriate before.

 

“Why wouldn’t it be? Don’t you want to learn to fight?” Connie, Steven’s friend, said. Yellow rolled her eyes.

 

“Pearls aren’t supposed to fight.” Yellow said, though the ridiculousness of that statement in a room with three other pearls who all already knew how to fight was not lost on her one bit. But those pearls didn’t have Diamonds, or ones that cared.

 

“Neither are Diamonds.” Domina said. Yellow glanced at her and saw the smile had returned, there was much less mischief in it this time around. “If you’re worried about how Yellow Diamond will react then you can say it was an order or something.”  And there it was, her last possible way out of this. Shattered.

 

“I...” Yellow Pearl sighed. “Very well.”

 

“Excellent!” Domina said, beaming. Blue smiled at her, stepping up onto the pad and patted her shoulder. Yellow grumbled as the group packed tightly on the warp pad and disappeared into the stream.

 

Twenty minutes later, Yellow Pearl had confirmed that going along with this had been possibly the worst idea of her life. She didn’t even need to breathe but she was still panting from White’s warm up drills. 

 

“Excellent!” White said, walking in front of them. Yellow swore she had stolen that posture from an agate. It certainly fit the situation. “We’ll pair up. Steven, you work with Blue; Pink, you’re with Domina; and Connie, if you could help Yellow get started, I’ll be stopping in on each group.” Yellow glanced at Connie. Truthfully, she hadn’t interacted much with the human, though from how much White gushed about her, she knew that the human was a competent warrior. That especially had to be true if White was letting her carry the sword of her beloved Rose Quartz. 

 

Still, there was something embarrassing about being taught by a juvenile human. Connie pulled her off to the side of the sky arena. The sword that the human handed her was heavier than it ought to be.

 

“Alright.” Connie said, striking a ready position that Yellow had seen in the odd melee exhibition she had attended with her Diamond. “Everything begins with your stance.”

****

The sky arena was much different than it had been when Blue Pearl had visited it with her diamond all those centuries ago. Of course, it had been affected by the war. Statues were toppled, and there were superficial cracks in the arena floor. But there was a different energy here now, the smug superiority of the elites that looked forward to seeing the rebellion crushed was no longer present. And neither was the quiet fear of how far Earth’s rebellion had progressed. 

 

Now the visitors to the sky arena were eager and energetic. A gentle breeze ruffled the area as Domina and Pink awkwardly and playfully sparred with Pink latest weapon attempt. This one was a flail, though Blue didn’t think it fit very well. 

 

Yellow was half heartedly going through the basic stances that Connie was trying to teach her while White helped. Though if that was actually helping or if it was just further antagonizing, Yellow was still up in the air. It was good to hear those two arguing again.

 

Sparring against Steven was enjoyable. Though there was something unnerving about being on the other side of Rose Quartz’s shield. 

 

She had really only learned to summon her axe in the last century or so and she still wasn’t used to the motion’s necessary to wield it effectively. Though, what little skill she did have had certainly been enough to dissipate her diamond when she had been otherwise distracted. Blue Pearl didn’t think she’d be so lucky the next time.

 

“Nice one!” Steven said from inside a pink bubble. Blue Pearl nodded and lifted the head of her axe back to it’s ready position. A gust of wind flipped her bangs into her eyes and once again Blue considered releasing her physical form just to deal with her hair permanently. She had tried shapeshifting her bangs out of her eyes before, but holding it for that long was exhausting.

 

“Thank you, Steven.” She said moving into a defensive stance and dodging as Steven attempted to ram her with the shield. He certainly had the power of a regular quartz, if not the mass. They traded blows back and forth for a bit until White insisted on a break for both Steven and Connie, and by extension, Domina. Blue approached Yellow, who had set the sword down and backed away from it. 

 

“I don’t think it’s going to explode.” She said.

 

“This is ridiculous.” Yellow said, folding her arms and eyeing Blue’s weapon nervously. “I shouldn’t be doing this. I’m obviously not cut out for fighting.”

 

“Well no, but neither was White at first.” Blue let her axe dissipate and Yellow slightly relaxed. 

 

“White’s different.”

 

“She does have 5000 years of practice on us.” Blue said. Yellow rolled her eyes. 

 

“Yes, well, not all of us are cut out to betray our diamonds or run off with a quartz.”

 

“And not all of us are cut out to reprogram unprogrammable technology.” Blue pointed out. Yellow’s mouth snapped shut and she blushed. “Who knows what we’re going back into Yellow,” She said in a more gentle manner, laying a hand on Yellow’s shoulder. “If anything, knowing as much as you can will keep you safe.” Yellow Pearl pulled away from her. 

 

“Like how not letting me into your discussions with the ‘New Rebellion’ will keep me safe,” Yellow asked. Blue bit her lip. 

 

“That’s different.”

 

“I’m sure.” Yellow said with a frown before walking away. Blue Pearl sighed and let her go. Yet another thing she would have to deal with sooner or later.


	30. XXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! hope you all had a great weekend, and didn't get snow in freaking april... Anyway, thanks go to Squish for beta-ing and reminding me on Friday that there's another character in this fic. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter, I'll see you Friday!

# 

_ I have until now been unaware of the full capabilities of my power. It seems as though it cannot interact with the memories of sentient organic life. This of course means that Vitus does in fact still remember my outburst in regards to [REDACTED] the incident on Earth. He has unfortunately pressed, and while Pink’s Pearl was otherwise occupied, I told him what transpired. It’s not as if he’s of any consequence anyway. _

 

Domina angrily closed the program and shoved her visor back into her pocket. She was sitting on the hand of the temple, waiting on her laundry to finish. Pearl had said that she would do it but Domina needed something to do, especially since Steven was upset with her. Between that and the thought that her mother had even dared to attempt to toy with her father’s memories, it just wasn’t a good day. 

 

Domina leaned against the dryer, the rattling of the machine as it operated was soothing. Almost soothing enough to put her to sleep. At least, it was until the warp pad activated and The Renegade appeared. No, she had said Domina didn’t have to call her that, though saying ‘White’ aloud was probably going to get her stabbed. Crystal Pearl? Maybe. Nonetheless she looked shocked to see Domina there. Domina got to her feet with an awkward smile.

 

“I can just come back, everything is almost dry anyway.” She reached for the latch to open the door.

 

“No, no.” The pearl said, setting down a basket full of Steven’s clothes next to the washer. “You’re fine.” Domina nodded and leaned against the machine. 

 

“Do you need any help?” She asked hesitantly. 

 

“No.” White Pearl said. Domina traced her thumb over the edge of her visor. 

 

“So... Steven was saything the other day that this area gets precipitation in the form of ice crystals during this portion of the year.” Domina said. The days had gotten much colder. She had started wearing her hat again when she was outside and Sabina had sent her a bright red coat that was thick enough to hold against the cold. 

 

“It does, it’s referred to as snow here.”

 

“Sounds fascinating. Usually by the time I get to a planet, they’ve already set up the troposphere stabilizers.” 

 

“Not surprising.” White Pearl carefully measured out washing powder then turned to face Domina. “Is Moss Agate still with the fleet?” She asked. Domina grinned briefly at the mention of Mossy. The smile faded as she remembered the last conversation they’d had.

 

“Yes, she was at least.” Domina said “You knew her?”

 

“Yes, your mother-” White stopped as her hand started to move as if on it’s own. She grabbed it and pulled it back down. Domina looked at the ground. That was the second reason she had started reading her mother's journals again. Corruption wasn’t the only damage that needed reversed.

 

“She’s taught me a lot.” Domina said in an attempt to somehow make the conversation less awkward. “I just hope she’s okay.”

 

“She always had a talent for turning back up when you least expect her.”  White said. “Your mother-” She had to pull her hand back again. “...She was considered invaluable to the fleet for that reason among others.”

 

“I don’t suppose you know how I would go about reversing... that.” Domina asked, rubbing the side of her arm.

 

“No.” 

 

“Of course not. I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s not your fault Domina.” White hesitated for a moment, fiddling with the edge of the ribbon around her waist. “I’m... sorry for how I reacted to you saving Steven.” Domina shook her head.

 

“It’s fine, understandable.”

 

“He said you told him you wouldn’t try again.” White said. Domina frowned.

 

“He wants to try again, but fused. I don’t know enough about fusion to even begin to know if that would be safe for either of us.” She said. White nodded.

 

“That’s sensible.”

 

“I thought so. He’s not happy with me, but I’d rather that than worry about him getting corrupted again.” Domina said. 

 

“Thank you,” White said. “Now, about your movements the other day during practice...”

****

Yellow Pearl found out about the ‘New Rebellion’ through pure accident. She had accompanied her diamond to a military strategy meeting with Blue and her diamond. Both of them, Blue Pearl and herself, had been left outside the room along with a red pearl with a cheek gem who belonged to one of the Pyropes that was also attending the meeting. Apparently this pearl didn’t know that Yellow wasn’t involved. That had led to a little over two decades of awkward  conversations with Blue. That, she could handle. 

 

She didn’t know Pink had been involved until Domina had fled the nursery she had been touring with Yellow Diamond. That entire day had been a fiasco, most notably when they consulted a fusion on the location of their wayward diamond. After that incident, interactions with Pink hadn’t really changed. But, when all three of them were together, as rare as those times were, Yellow usually felt uncomfortable enough with their dancing around the topic that she excused herself. That, she could deal with. 

 

There was a difference between that and seeing both of them immediately stop talking when she entered the room. Yellow didn’t move from the warp pad and stared at Blue and Pink Pearl, both of whom were sitting on the couch with various papers scattered around them, speaking intently. Pink looked at Blue hesitantly. Blue put on a smile that looked especially fake, considering who it was coming from.

 

“Yellow... how is the ship?” Blue asked. And that’s what finally broke it for Yellow Pearl.

 

“Are you joking?” She snapped. “You don’t have to act like I’m against you!” 

 

“Well, you’ve never particularly shown interest in this before...” Pink said.

 

“You’ve never given me a chance! I’ve known for almost five thousand years!”

 

“Yellow you have to understand our concern. If Yellow Diamond had found out about us,” Blue began “Or in this case found out before we were ready-” 

 

“She didn’t until just recently! This is the only thing I’ve kept from her, Blue.” Yellow shouted.

 

“Yes, and I’m glad you did. It was integral, but we can’t ask you to hide any more from her-”

 

“Why not? What would it matter now?”

 

“Well, if Yellow Diamond found out-”

 

“She hasn’t! I’ve never told her!” 

 

“You haven’t because she never would have thought to ask you!” Blue shouted back. Pink was looking between them with wide eyes. They didn’t fight often.

 

“You really think I would turn you in like that?” Yellow said disbelievingly 

 

“Yellow, it’s not personal it’s just-”

 

“You really think after all this time I would just betray you? Blue, I thought we were fr-” Yellow snapped her mouth shut and stormed out the beach house.

 

“Yellow, wait-” Pink called before Yellow slammed the screen door behind her. She was half-way down the beach by the time her anger and irritation caught up with her. She spun and punched the cliff wall with all of her strength. She only succeeded in hurting herself. And once again, finding herself alone.

  
  


****

Yellow Diamond rarely got the chance to reform. Diamonds weren’t often put into any situations dangerous enough to dissipate. In her gem, Yellow Diamond addressed the preview of her form, her first form. 

 

Same hair as she had before she retreated into her gem, in place of her armor and the shoulder pads was a simple long sleeved shirt with a collar that went up to her chin, and long boots. There were a few things that she already knew were definitely not going to make a reappearance. The shoulder pads had been an acceptable tribute to White but they were cumbersome. Yellow began to concentrate on a jacket, on a style. She wasn’t one to care about aesthetics, at least not as much as Blue, but she did like to maintain appearances. 

 

It was counter-productive to let your mind wander in your gem. All that did was prolong the time it was going to take. But Yellow was sure she had nothing but time. She assumed that Steven had been picked up; the Crystal Gems were unfailingly loyal to their own. She also assumed that Domina was with them when they retrieved Steven. What would he say? That she coerced him in to going? Would Domina do what she had threatened? If she tried to reform at this point, would it even work? Would she even know that she was bubbled?

 

Yellow Diamond frowned, her musings had made the coat lopsided, and one glove was bigger than the other. She began again. And then a third time, and a fourth, each time she found herself distracted by the whats, and woulds and the questions of how she would be received when she finally did reform. And the lingering fear that she would be too late, that Blue Diamond would have tracked them to Earth, and that didn’t help at all.

 


	31. XXXI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! so this chapter... was an experience and moved us along a heck of a lot faster than I thought it would. I hope you enjoy!  
> Squish once again made sure that this monster was readable and managed to reassure me that certain... points landed the way they should.
> 
> I'm going to stop talking so I don't spoil anything.   
> Enjoy the chapter!  
> See you Monday!

Being on Earth made Domina realize there were some gaps in her knowledge. Most of this regarded the planets flora and fauna which really was only to be expected.  She remembered growing up when her father had attempted to teach her about animals. Stuff like 'the cow says moo, the cat saw meow, the chicken says woof,' but that hadn’t lasted very long. Domina was more familiar with other sounds, like the ‘thud-chirk’ of an injector planting into place, the differences in various gem’s footsteps, and the particular clunk of a gravity engine with a loose floatanium bearing.  So by this point in her life, Domina could easily recognize the sound of a gem reforming.

 

Which was a really weird thing to hear at two in the afternoon while she was playing a game with Steven. She looked away from the tv screen and glanced around the beach house. Then, seeing nothing, she returned her gaze back to the screen where her character was losing, badly. She’d had auditory hallucinations before, even a faint ringing in her ears for a while after she burst her eardrums, this was probably one of those. Who would even be reforming?

 

A split second later, the answer to that question came to her. Domina dropped the controller and literally flew out of the beach house, sending anything that wasn't weighed down into the air. She landed neatly on the bottom step and was followed quickly by Steven, who watched with her as Yellow's base form expanded from her gem. Her hair was the first recognizable feature. It stayed static as her the rest of her body changed rapidly, from its base form to one wearing a cape, then a long coat with a high collar, then there was a shorter coat, then the infamous shoulder pads and finally solidifying into existence with something new. Domina kicked up into the air so that she was roughly eye level with Yellow Diamond at her full height. Yellow Diamond looked down at herself, her new form consisted of shorter gloves and a proper jacket that reached about mid calf. Then she looked at the nest Steven had made her with a confused frown, and carefully nudged away the umbrella with the toe of her boot.

 

“Hey, Yellow Diamond!” Steven said, hopping up on to the deck. Yellow Diamond finally noticed them and turned. Domina thought she saw a bit of tension fall from her when she noticed Steven. Then, she nodded to him and looked directly at Domina.

 

“We’re still here?” She asked. Domina sighed and rubbed her arms, going outside in haste without her coat had been a bad idea.

 

“Good to see you too, Yellow.” Domina said. Yellow at least had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. “The ship has another two months until it’s done.”

 

“You actually managed to cobble something together?” Yellow Diamond folded her arms and frowned skeptically.

 

“Yeah! It’s really cool. Yellow Pearl figured out how to reprogram the orb thingy and now we’re just waiting on it to finish.” Steven said. Domina had been planning for almost a month how to delicately breach this conversation with Yellow. She unfortunately had forgotten to take Steven into account.

 

“You can’t be serious.” Yellow Diamond said flatly. “She doesn’t know how to do something like that. She’s just a pearl.” Domina pursed her lips and decided that now would be a good time to get her coat.

 

****

 

Yellow Diamond was well aware of Domina’s sentimentality towards pearls and other gems. So, she didn’t need any help in interpreting the look she had received before the other diamond had gone back into the beach house.

 

“That's not true you know. Yellow Pearl’s like, really smart.” Steven said, sitting on the edge of the deck. Yellow Diamond had to wonder if he understood the place of any gems.

 

“She’s acceptably intelligent which would be necessary for a Diamond's Pearl, the same as the Renegade.” Yellow Diamond said. Steven frowned.

 

“So... you were in your gem for a while. Is everything alright?” he asked, apparently trying to change the subject.

 

“Yes.” Yellow Diamond said tensely.

 

“Well that’s good, I’m glad your back. I think Domina was getting worried.”

 

“I’m sure.” She glanced again at the pile on the ground next to Domina’s ship. Was that where her gem had been?

 

“And thanks for pulling me out of the ship. Sorry you got hurt in the process.” Steven said. Yellow pursed her lips.

 

“If you hadn’t been so reckless then none of that would have happened.” She said. Of course if they had waited instead of running off in the middle of the night then neither of them would have been put in that position in the first place. She looked at Steven, whose shoulders had begun to slump as the conversation had gone on. Yellow tugged at the edges of her coat, hesitating. “But... I am glad to see you are alright.” She said. Steven immediately smiled at her and Yellow was already regretting saying anything. Fortunately, Domina returned wearing a red coat which just made her bafflingly colorful ensemble brighter.

 

“Well, do you want to see what you’ve missed or not? It’s at the barn.” She said. Yellow Diamond frowned and shrunk to a more maneuverable size.

 

****

 

Yellow Pearl was starting to wonder if maybe she was cracking. Peridot’s last rant about some form of human entertainment had actually made sense, as she had the opening song to Camp Pining Hearts stuck in her head. She had been spending more time than usual at the ship. Initially, she hadn’t been doing much of anything, but over time, she had been pulled into conversation with 5XG. The gem was... slightly erratic but she did seem to make an effort to take Yellow’s suggestions into account while she redesigned her ‘new and improved’ limb enhancers.

 

For now though, she had broken from the barn proper to check on the ship. All of the exterior hull had been built now. Which was good, considering the planet’s troposphere had never been stabilized. Dragging a tarp over it when it rained had been inconvenient, to say the least. At this point, power actually needed to be diverted to each major system individually to ensure that it grew properly. It was a tedious task, but Yellow Pearl didn’t mind doing it. The ship was quiet other than her and Pumpkin, or when White or Domina occasionally stopped in, or Steven and Domina both stopped in, with her Diamond. Yellow Pearl froze the moment she saw Yellow Diamond’s disapproving expression, coupled with Domina and Steven’s uneasy ones.

 

“My Diamond!” She said with a practiced salute and bow. “You’ve reformed! And you look lovely, if I might add.” Her diamond rolled her eyes, of course.

 

“What are you playing at, Pearl?” Yellow Diamond asked. Yellow Pearl dropped her hands to her sides then grasped them behind her tightly as if she could stop her fear by that alone. From one side, she could see Domina staring at her. She was wearing the same expression that she had every time she had offered to take the blame over the last few months, as if she was trying to communicate that she had meant what she had said. She was giving Yellow an out, a chance to fade into the background to avoid her diamond’s anger over this deviation from her intended purpose.

 

“Pearl.” Her diamond repeated in a tone that clearly showed her patience was running out.

 

“My Diamond, I...” Yellow trailed off, her eyes wandering to where Steven was standing. He smiled at her encouragingly. She took an unnecessary breath to steady herself. “I reprogrammed the reformation orb found on board Pink Diamond’s ship to stabilize the design drawn up by Peridot 5XG, White Diamond, and White Diamond’s former Pearl.” That last bit did prompt a grimace from Domina but it was quickly overtaken with a smirk.

 

“And remind me,” Yellow Diamond said folding her arms in front of her. Yellow Pearl flinched, and at her feet, Pumpkin whimpered. “Are you a Beryl, do you have any business toying with diamond technology?”

 

“No, My Diamond, but-”

 

“There are no excuses, Pearl!” Yellow Diamond shouted. Steven’s face had gone dark.

 

“Hey, she-”

 

“Stay out of this, Quartz,” Her Diamond said. “This isn’t your concern.” Domina pulled Steven backwards behind her and Yellow Pearl could feel the air begin to move, as if preparing for something.

 

“My Diamond.” Yellow Pearl tried again, her voice had gone tense in an attempt to calm her nerves. “It was only prudent at the time that I share my abilities, even if they don’t exactly fit the mold you had me created for.”

 

“And who are you to decide that?” Yellow Diamond’s voice had gone quiet, Yellow Pearl almost wished she was still yelling. “What business do you have acting like your own gem? This isn’t your purpose, Pearl!”

 

“That doesn’t matter here! Why should it?” Yellow Pearl’s voice took on a tone of desperation.

 

“It doesn’t matter where we are. You! Are! A! Pearl!” Yellow Diamond had moved closer, the full force of her anger pushed her back to the wall, as if it was a physical presence. And it was that which finally broke the tension inside of Yellow Pearl, that let all of her anger that had been building up over thousands of years, pouring out.

 

“I did this!” Yellow Pearl shouted “I made sure this happened! And  _ they _ know!” She pointed at Steven and Domina. The words were bubbling out and there was no way she could stop them now. “It doesn’t matter if I’m a pearl or not! You can’t take that from me you- you- you CLOD!” 

 

That stopped her words. In fact it was as if everything had stopped. Steven’s mouth dropped open and Domina blinked, they slowly looked over at Yellow Diamond. Yellow Diamond stared down at her with an expression of utter shock that turned to anger as quickly as the electricity began to build around her.

 

“Yellow stand dow-” Domina started only to be cut off by Yellow Diamond’s roar.

 

“How. Dare. You.” Yellow Diamond said. Pumpkin yelped and scampered down the hallway towards the other end of the ship.

 

Yellow Pearl closed her eyes and braced herself. The anger and pride inside, warming her gem, as if to reassure her that even though she was most likely going to be shattered in the next five minutes, at least she had managed to stand up for herself.

 

She heard the lightning from her diamond, the same as she had heard so many times before with insubordinate gems. But there was no destabilizing zap. She hesitantly opened her eyes, only to see a yellow translucent wall in front of her. Wait no. Not a wall.

 

“Woah,” Steven said, breaking the shocked silence with a wide grin. “It’s a shield!”


	32. XXXII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guy's! Welp yellow's back with a vengence which means she gets some one on one character development that I've been looking forward to doing. Thank's to Squish for the beta and help with comma shuffling. And also that you to everyone who leaves comments! they're always great to get.
> 
> If your interested... I have a discord: https://discord.gg/Qz6cmCs
> 
> If you want to come talk to me about fic stuff or writing or steven universe then feel free! Also if you just want another discord to add to your collection then that's ok too.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter! See you friday!

Domina pushed aside her excitement about Yellow Pearl’s shield. Right now, she had a more pressing concerns in the form of an irate diamond. Domina grabbed Yellow Diamond by the collar of her jacket and dragged her out of the ship. Yellow Diamond stumbled after her, more so out of the shock, then yanked out of her grasp when she came to her senses. 

 

“What in stars’ name is wrong with you!” Domina shouted turning to face Yellow Diamond. Yellow Diamond shrunk back in surprise, for a split second, before leaning towards Domina, hands balled into fists at her side and sparking.

 

“What’s wrong with me?! You’re the one who has no regard for the hierarchy that’s been set up over thousands of years! I don’t care what you do with your gems, White, but leave mine out of it!” Yellow shouted. Domina scowled, drawing herself up to her full height to retaliate. She stopped when she saw Steven and Yellow Pearl peeking out of the ship along with Lapis and Peridot’s stares from the barn. 

 

It would be satisfying to rip Yellow to shreds in front of everyone. White Diamond could easily assert her authority over those who dared threaten those she cared about. But Domina could see fear lurking underneath Yellow’s fit of rage. Fear of her, which was so baffling that she dropped her posturing. Yellow Diamond blinked in surprise when, instead of yelling back, Domina jerked her head towards the woods. Domina led her a few feet into the woods. She took a moment to collect herself before finally speaking. 

 

“I don’t understand you.” Domina said. Yellow frowned, apparently that hadn’t been the response she had been expecting. “You, of all people, have to understand how amazing it is that she reprogrammed that thing.”

 

“That’s not the point, Domina!” Yellow snapped. Domina sighed.

 

“Yellow, I’m not trying to argue with you. Can we just...” Domina started then chuckled. “Shards, we’ve never been good about just talking to each other without shouting, have we?” This caught Yellow even more off guard.

 

“I... not as far as I remember, no.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“Yes, well, maybe it’s about time we gave that a try.” Domina said. She took another breath. “If this planet has proven anything, over and over again, it’s that all gems are far more capable than we give them credit for.”

 

“Domina, we can’t just get rid of the system! The empire has already been thrown into disorder!” Yellow said, her volume rising again. Domina didn’t speak until she had calmed down again.

 

“Why would it be? I’m not saying that we should throw it out completely, but there's no real reason for it to be as rigid as it is-”

 

“No real reason?!” Yellow interrupted, Domina frowned. “This planet is the perfect example of why it should be maintained!” 

 

“Why, because gems going outside their intended purpose is what cost us the war?” Domina said.

 

“It cost us more than just the war.” Yellow said, looking pointedly at Domina. Domina brushed the hair away from her gem. 

 

“That may be true.” Domina said, “But it doesn’t excuse your reaction. Yellow Pearl has probably been the most loyal out of any of  the diamond’s pearls. Even if she did do something that’s fracking amazing and called you a clod,” Yellow Diamond frowned, “You can’t just treat her like that.”

 

“She’s my pearl.”

 

“She’s a gem. You know we could make sapphires the same way we make pearls if we could scrape together the resources” Domina said.

 

“She’s- argh!” Yellow said throwing her hands. “Why are you like this? Why do you care? They’re gems Domina, we’re going to outlive them, even you.” 

 

“What?” Domina said blinking. “Why get attached? Why not?”

 

“Because you’re above them, because they’re disposable.”

 

“No, they’re not.” Domina snapped, harsher than intended. “No one is disposable, Yellow. They have feelings, they’re people.” She shook her head and looked at Yellow Diamond, who stared back baffled. “Don’t you ever just talk to your gems, just to get to know them?”

 

“No, of course not!” Yellow Diamond said. Domina really should have expected that answer, it had been a stupid question. She turned back towards the barn.

 

“Well maybe you should give it a try. You’re stuck with them for at least two more months anyway.”

****

Yellow Diamond hadn’t actually expected Steven to come see her after the outburst at the barn. She really hadn’t been expecting him to come with his communication device either.

 

“And this is Domina and Peridot trying to figure out how to fit uh...”

 

“That’s a heat regulator.” 

 

“Yeah, they were trying to figure out where to put that so that it wasn’t next to the gravity engine cause I guess that’s bad?”

 

“It’s not ideal.” Yellow Diamond said. They were sitting with their backs against Domina’s ship while they faced the ocean. Steven had been catching her up on what she had missed which was... very considerate, considering. 

 

“Yeah, that’s what Pearl said.” Steven said, swiping through a series of pictures. “And this is a selfie with Pearl, and one with Amethyst, and one with Yellow, and one with Pink, and here’s one with Domina after Sabina dyed her hair.”

 

“Is that what happened to it?” Yellow Diamond asked, she had noticed the change in Domina’s hair, as well in Steven’s, but it hadn’t seemed relevant at the time to mention it. 

 

“Yeah, she uh... dyed it so we would match after I got corrupted.” Steven said. At this point Yellow Diamond should have been used to Steven’s comments not always making complete sense. This one was certainly one for the record books though.

 

“You were corrupted?”

 

“Yeah, for a little bit. I got better.” Steven said, threading his fingers through his pink curls. “Domina had to do a weird mind thing so that’s why my hair’s pink now. I don’t really remember anything about it.”

 

“I suppose that’s the last of your experiments with corruption then.” Yellow Diamond said with a slight smirk. She knew messing with it had been nonsense.

 

“Yeah, for now. I have one more thing I want to try but...” Steven looked at her hesitantly then shrugged. “Domina said not right now. And Garnet said not to push her.” Something told Yellow Diamond that it would be better for her sanity if she didn’t ask what that something was. There was silence between them while Steven turned off his communication device and put it in the pocket of his coat. “So... are you mad about using the stuff from Pink Diamond’s ship?”

 

“What? No.” Yellow Diamond said. “Why would I be? It’s just a ship.”

 

“Oh ok, that’s good. I thought it might have bothered you. I know Domina said that Pink gets uncomfortable talking about Pink Diamond sometimes”

 

“I’m not a Pearl. I don’t get ‘uncomfortable’.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“Uh huh, sure you don’t.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Yellow Diamond snapped. Steven stood up, Yellow Diamond had to wonder why his torso and legs were covered with layers of insulation but he still only wore his sandals.

 

“Well you’re uncomfortable with the Earth, that’s why you wanted to make the Cluster right?” Steven asked. Yellow Diamond opened her mouth to protest only to close it when she realized he was right and she couldn’t argue much there. 

 

“...Yes.” Yellow Diamond said. Steven smiled. 

 

“It’s ok then, you can talk about if you want.”

 

“I don’t.” Yellow Diamond snapped. She really didn’t understand Steven’s insistence on her talking about her feelings.

 

“That’s fine, you can talk to me later if you want.” Steven said before walking back towards the beach house. It was late. Yellow Diamond shook her head, but waved him off dismissively, then looked at the clouds moving in up above. That wasn’t the only reason she was ‘uncomfortable’ with Earth. There was the feeling of incompleteness the planet gave her now, and there was the loss that still lingered. In the end, Pink may have died on this planet, but they lost White to it as well.

 

“Yellow Diamond?” Steven called. Yellow turned her head to see him in the doorway. “You’re going to apologize to Yellow Pearl, right?” Yellow Diamond frowned. “Please?”

 

“I’ll consider it. She did well... considering.”

 

“Good! Good night!”

 

“...Good night, Steven.”

  
  
  



	33. XXXIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! hopefully you've had a good week! if not, here's an extra long chapter for you. thanks to squish for helping me add 24 comma's to this monster and laughing at my bad jokes. If your interested in talking with me, as always you a certainly welcome to leave a comment that I will squeal over .03 seconds after receiving, or you can also come talk to me on discord or on tumblr. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter, and see you all monday!

The Styx was old. Older than Domina actually. It really should have been retired centuries ago, _before_ she had rescued it from the scrap heap, or maybe the New Rebellion’s warehouse. But Domina was attached to it and so had nursed it through mechanical failures that should have ended its travels. This of course meant that sometimes systems just stopped working, like the environmental regulators.

 

Which would explain why Domina woke up to her breath fogging the air around her. She rolled out of her bunk and whimpered when her bare feet hit the cold metal of the floor. With the blanket draped around her like a cape, she shuffled to the panel. She readjusted some wires and grumbled when she had to change out the heating coil.

 

She heard the heat kick on, closed the panel with an affectionate pat and shuffled to the console chair. She couldn’t quite get all of herself curled into the seat but she could get enough of her body trapped within the blanket to be comfortable enough to fall back asleep.

 

At least until she noticed Yellow Diamond sitting in the other chair.

 

“Ack!” Domina said, suddenly trying to both sit up straight and stand at the same time while the blanket twisted around her legs. She ended up on the floor with her legs in the air. There was an awkward silence. “Good morning, Yellow.” Domina finally said without getting up.

 

“Good... morning, I suppose,” Yellow Diamond said awkwardly. Domina got to her feet and readjusted her blanket over her shoulders, it was getting a little bit warmer already. Yellow had her screen open in front of her and looked like she was playing with the tactical simulator. And from what Domina could tell, she was losing.

 

“Not that I mind,” Domina said sitting back in the chair. Though this time, she was attempting to look a little more alert. “But what are you doing in here?” Yellow Diamond frowned and closed the program on her screen.

 

“There’s some form of precipitation falling outside and I was tired of sitting in it.” She said.

 

“Precipitation?” Domina asked. She yawned while stretching, causing Yellow to make an uncomfortable face. “Oh! It must be snow!” She said with a grin. She hit the button on the console to open the door and tiptoed over the slowly warming metal to look out.

 

The biting cold hit her first, which made her wonder why she had decided to open the door in her bare feet. She was distracted by sight of white drifts in place of where sand had been just hours before. The sky was overcast but Domina could see a certain warmth behind the grey blanket of clouds. The flakes didn’t fall so much as drift down peacefully, like watching a dance in midair. Domina took a hesitant, yet regrettable, step out with her hand outstretched to catch a few. Seconds before they melted, she could pick out tiny hexagonal patterns. “Amazing...” Domina said softly.

 

“It’s a nuisance.” Yellow Diamond said. Domina sighed and took a step back in, shaking her foot free of the rapidly melting snow.

 

“Well yes, I understand that,” She breathed into her hands to warm them and elbowed the button again to close the door. “But the weather here doesn’t need to be practical. It can just exist” Yellow Diamond grunted noncommittally and went back to idly scrolling through her screen. Domina rolled her eyes and decided that if she was going to have company, she might as well get dressed.

 

Thankfully, the water warmed up fairly quickly, which meant that she was actually comfortable by the time she stepped out of the bathroom, dressed and brushing her hair. Yellow Diamond had moved to inspecting the system panel Domina had fixed a few moments earlier.

 

“It overloaded the heating coil.” Domina said.

 

“I figured as much. You really should have had a new ship built eons ago.”

 

“If I were to upgrade, I would end up with one of those systems where to fly it you have to be able to plug your gem into it.”

 

“So?” Yellow Diamond said, straightening some wires and closing the panel.

 

“If you haven’t noticed, my body’s not made of hard light.” Domina tossed the brush on her bed. “Are you bored?”

 

“Extremely.” Yellow said flatly.

 

“How long has it been since you had a break?”

 

“What’s a break?” Yellow Diamond said. Domina chuckled then stopped when she saw Yellow’s deadpan look.

 

“You’re not serious...” Domina said hesitantly. Yellow Diamond smirked, and Domina swore, for the first time, she almost heard Yellow Diamond laugh.

 

“No I’m not. It has been a while though.”

 

A few hours later, the day had actually progressed to something that could be considered morning. So, Domina braved the cold, this time properly dressed.  The snow was still relatively pristine and the sky had cleared to a blue that seemed much brighter than normal. The peace lasted for all about 5 minutes before it was swiftly ended by a clump of snow hitting her square in the face. Domina yelped and immediately dove behind The Styx, she heard laughing, Amethyst mostly, with Steven’s giggle thrown in.

 

“Come on WD, you’re not just gonna hide are you?” Amethyst shouted. “That’s no fun!”

 

“Sorry, Domina!” Steven said. “Amethyst talked me into it!” Domina remembered Steven talking about snowball fights last year, so she got the basic principle. Still, two on one didn’t seem very fair. Then again, she was a diamond. The return snow balls were made clumsily and delivered with horrible accuracy, but she managed to hit both Steven and Amethyst each at least once. The pair laughed and Domina dodged another volley of snowballs as she emerged from behind the ship.

 

Ten minutes later, the snow was no longer pristine and Domina was laying on the ground with Steven and Amethyst as they attempted to catch their breath.

 

“You don’t even need to breathe.” Domina said.

 

“I like breathing,” Amethyst said, sitting up. “You humans get all the fun with your squishy body stuff.” Domina rolled her eyes and took off her hat to shake the snow out of it. There was the sound of a car coming up the beach and Domina turned to see Sabina’s car slowly making its way towards them, Connie was in the passenger seat.

 

“Doesn’t she normally have school at this time?” Domina asked.

 

“Connie said Winter Break started Friday last week so she’s free to hang out.” Steven said.

 

“A’ight.” Amethyst said standing up, she shifted into what Domina vaguely recognized as a catapult. “Load me up, we’re gonna get ‘em.” She said, aiming for the car‘s path. Steven immediately started filling the bucket of Amethyst’s shifted form and Domina joined, though she was puzzled, to say the least. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Yellow Diamond watching with... an inscrutable look on her face. A brief volley of frozen water had Connie and Sabina covered in snow.

 

“Nice to see you’re enjoying it, I guess.” She said, shoving a mound of snow off the hood of her car. Domina chuckled.

 

“It was Amethyst’s idea.” She said as Connie and Steven hugged.

 

“Yeah it was!” Amethyst said, putting her hands behind her head. Sabina rolled her eyes.

 

“Alright, well if you guys wanna fight, lets do this properly.” She said, crossing her arms. “Humans versus gems?” Domina and Steven glanced at each other. “You guys can be your own team.” Sabina said with a dismissive wave. Steven offered Domina a high five, which she gladly accepted.

 

“Hey, what about me?” Amethyst said.

 

“Right, well we could get Garnet or Pearl, or...” Sabina trailed off and glanced over at The Styx. Slowly, everyone else turned to look at a very unamused Yellow Diamond .

 

“Absolutely not,” she said flatly.

 

“Please, Yellow,” Steven said, giving Yellow a particularly innocent and pleading look. Yellow turned and looked at Domina, who gave her a completely unsympathetic shrug.

 

“You’re the one who said you were bored.” She said.

 

“I...” Yellow Diamond gave her an irritated look then glanced at Amethyst, who was trying to look uninterested, and then at Steven’s big pleading eyes, and sighed. “Fine.” She said. Steven and Amethyst whooped. Domina gave Yellow Diamond a smirk and held up two fingers.

 

“Two months.” She mouthed silently. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes but followed Amethyst’s lead, with only a bit of reluctance.

 

****

 

“Omega base seven-dot-nine-three-two.” Pink Pearl said  “Please confirm channel security.”

 

“Hello, Pink!” Red’s voice projected from the wailing stone. “The channel is secure. will you please tell the White that she was right about the problem with the shields. It’s been fixed.” Pink looked over at White who gave her an ‘of course I was right’ smile.

 

“Well that's certainly good to hear, any other updates?” Pink asked. Behind her, the warp pad activated. Pink looked over to see Yellow Pearl stepping off of it. Yellow had been avoiding them since her fight with Blue, and that had only gotten worse after her argument with Yellow Diamond.

 

“A few.” Red said. Yellow Pearl hesitantly lingered, and turned to go into White’s room, only to stop when Pink waved her over. “No one’s heard from Jet yet, though she’s seemed to have gathered at least one extra helper,” Red continued.

 

“That’s good?”  Pink said. Blue was giving her a confused look, one that turned slightly to shame when Yellow came around the corner. The two looked at each other for a moment and then Blue scooted to the side so that Yellow could sit between her and White. Yellow sat. And for the first time in a few days, Pink swore she saw a genuine smile from her.

 

“Yeah I hope so.” Red said. White was helping Blue fill Yellow in on what was going on while Red continued. “New arrivals have finally slowed and we haven’t had any major problems. It’s definitely not just pearls any more.” Blue smiled. “Oh, and we’ve had gems from the fleet show up!”

 

Not even a moment after Red said that, the door to the beach house flung open and Domina, who had clearly been listening, rushed in.

“Who is it?!” She asked frantically “Are they okay?” Really Pink should have expected this. This was the first time Domina hadn’t been either at the barn or on the moon when they contacted the New Rebellion. But, that knowledge didn’t stop Pink’s yelp of surprise.

 

“Pink?!” Red asked. startled. “What happened?”

 

“Nothing, nothing.” Pink said. Domina waved awkwardly to the surprised pearls in the room but still looked hopefully at Pink. “I, um.” Pink said. She looked at Blue and remembered their conversation on how best to introduce the Diamonds to the new rebellion without a lot of awkwardness on either side. They were going to be careful but Domina was here now. “Domina has some questions, Red.” She said before stepping out of the transmission stream.

 

“Who?” Red asked. Domina glanced at the three pearls on the couch. White looked skeptical and Blue looked like this was the worst idea she had ever heard. Pink gestured to the transmission stream though, and Domina stepped in.

 

“Um, hello. I’m Domina” She said. “I, uh..” She glanced at Blue, “I was working with the fleet until just recently. Can you tell me who showed up?”

 

“Oh, well, three rubies, cuts 2CM, 8KL, and 9PX.” Red said, though she still seemed to be slightly baffled. Pink honestly couldn’t keep the names of all the rubies from the main fleet straight, but those cut numbers didn’t sound familiar. “Also an era two peridot, 6CS and a heliodor, 4KV.” Red finished. Domina’s hopeful smile faded.

 

“Ah.” She said. “Not my section, the secondary one. That’s good to hear though. I know who you’re talking about. Can... can you tell them that I say hello? And that I’m glad to hear that they’re safe.”

 

“I can. I’m sorry, but Domina? That’s not a gem type.”  Red said

 

“No, it’s not. It’s nothing to worry about.” Domina said. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything from a Mossy- er Moss Agate? Or a Milky Quartz or um, an... era one Peridot?” She asked.

 

“I have not, sorry.”

 

“It’s alright. I’d just hoped...” Domina trailed off, then shook her head. “Thanks, Red.” She said before stepping out of the stream. Blue took her place and Domina immediately hugged Pink.

 

“Sorry, thanks anyway.” She said softly. Pink nodded and patted her shoulder.

 

“I’m sure they’ll be fine.” She said. Domina nodded and briefly wiped her face before backing out of the room.

 

“Sorry!” She said to the room in general. White rolled her eyes.

 

“No more listening at the door!” She said. Domina grinned, calling behind her one last time.

 

“Yes, ma’am!”

 

“So who was that?” Red asked again. Blue hesitated.

 

“That was... White Diamond.”

 

“Oh, shards... alright then.” Red said, her voice cracking nervously. Pink chuckled and sat next to Yellow.

 

“Does she always do that?” Yellow asked.

 

“Domina? Yes, as often as possible.” Pink said.

 

“Anything else?” Blue asked. Red stammered still shaken by the reveal of who she had just talked too.

 

“Er, yes, um...” The sound of screens being moved leaked through the wailing stone. “That group taking out warp networks? They skirted Homeworld, they uh.” More shuffling. “They’re actually heading towards... well, towards Earth, it looks like.”

 


	34. XXXIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so my goal for friday is to not write a super long chapter. Thank you everyone for your comments on last fridays chapter, I hope you like what you read here. Squish beta'd and helped me ad a net of 58 comma's because I'm really bad at grammar. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter, see you friday!

“Domina, I am perfectly capable of defending myself.”

 

“You were fine for a few minutes. How often do you actually use your lightning?”

 

“That's... not important.” 

 

“Yes, well, summoning a weapon takes up less energy and is more versatile.”

 

“Why would I need to do anything but dissipate their form and maybe shatter them?” Yellow Diamond asked. Domina gave her a frown. 

 

“We’re not going to be shattering if we can help it.” She said. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes.

 

“White, be realistic.” She said. 

 

“No, you be realistic!” Domina snapped, then she caught herself, took a breath and spoke again. She had been doing that a lot lately. “Look, we don’t know what’s coming with...” Domina gestured behind her at the warp pad and Yellow Diamond pursed her lips. During the ridiculous amount of spare time she’d had lately, Yellow Diamond had managed to figure out that it was indeed possible to warp directly into a planet’s local warp network. Though, it took a ridiculous amount of power and was incredibly dangerous.

 

“Just... come on.” Domina said, stepping on the the warp pad. “It’ll be fun.” Yellow Diamond highly doubted that but she followed. After all, it wasn’t like she had anything else to do.

 

The moment they exited the warp stream, Yellow regretted going along with this. Really, to a certain extent, she couldn’t blame the rebels for taking advantage of the structures that had been built pre-rebellion. Well, she could but it was a little late now. 

 

“Come on!” Domina said sprinting up the stairs two at a time. Yellow Diamond followed her slowly, trying to block out the memories of Pink’s excitement over this arena. Which was the first building of the new colony that had been constructed. 

 

On the other side of the arena’s walls, she could hear the sound of gems practicing. Steven seemed to be helping her pearl with wielding her newfound shield. Blue’s Pearl and Pink’s sparred with an axe and a push sword respectively, though that push sword definitely didn’t look right in Pink Pearl’s hand. Meanwhile, the Renegade Pearl was keeping an eye on a sparring match between Steven’s friend and Amethyst. 

 

Yellow Diamond really had to wonder about Amethyst. Most quartzes, other than agates, didn’t summon any kind of whip. It was very strange. The overcooked gem was... odd in many respects, though she supposed that was what happened when a quartz was allowed to exist for almost 5000 years with no discipline. It may have been because of that; that against her better judgement, she had actually enjoyed the snowball fight.

 

They did create a bit of a stir, which was to be expected. But Domina ignored the lull in activity and led Yellow to a empty spot where part of the stands had long since crumbled away. She summoned her sword. Yellow had never seen White’s sword in the past, but she supposed it stood to reason that it was the same Domina held now. After all, Steven summoned Rose Quartz’s shield. 

 

“Well come on, let's do this.” Domina said with a grin. Yellow raised an eyebrow and gestured with one hand, lighting crackling off of it. Domina rolled her eyes. “No, summon your weapon.” Then she paused. “You can summon a weapon, right?” 

 

“I can. Though, I prefer not too.” Yellow Diamond did not have a lot of experience with her weapon, “I’m not exactly intended for fighting.”

 

“Neither am I, and neither are they.” Domina said, gesturing behind her at the group that was doing a horrible job of pretending like they weren’t watching. “So you might as well get some practice in.” Domina grinned tauntingly. “Unless you’re afraid.” That really shouldn’t have worked on Yellow Diamond. She shouldn’t be driven by her emotions. But then again, did that really matter here?

 

Yellow Diamond glared at Domina and reached into her glowing gem. With a flick of her wrist her staff shot into the air. Yellow Diamond caught it in a swift motion and brought it to rest upright next to her. Domina looked surprised

 

“Honestly, I was expecting a sword.”

 

“Some of us are a little more creative.” Yellow Diamond said snidely. 

 

“Oh well then, after you.” Domina said with a theatrical bow. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes and took up a position she had seen other gems with polearms use. She attacked, though it wasn’t a particularly good one. Domina dodged easily. Yellow Diamond only barely managed to bring up her staff to block the returning blow. Domina smirked and nodded, then stepped to the side, falling into a defensive position for the next blow. 

 

Fighting against Domina physically was as irritating as arguing with her. She didn’t stay still, one moment she was in front of Yellow, waiting for her to react, the next she was behind her. Her attack was either hastily and sloppily blocked, or the flat of her sword tapped Yellow cheekily. 

 

“Alright. Come on, Yellow, put some power behind it.” Domina said.  Yellow growled, angry at Domina for baiting her, angry at herself for allowing herself to be baited, angry at Blue for putting them in this situation in the first place! So if Domina wanted power behind her strikes, then power she was going to get. 

 

She slammed her staff against the ground and lightning arced through the weapon to the ground by Domina’s feet, close enough to dissipate the other diamond’s form, if such a thing was even possible. Domina predictably enough jumped out of the way. And the moment she was in the air, Yellow swung across with her staff and caught Domina in the side as she let her anger carry through the swing and drive Domina into the ground. Then she spun the staff around and leveled it underneath the hybrid’s chin.

 

“Is that enough power for you?” She asked threateningly. Domina stared up at her, stunned for a moment, and Yellow Diamond dissipated her staff,  wondering if she had finally gone too far. Then, Domina laughed.

 

“Ow... but wow, that...” Domina stumbled to her feet and tenderly prodded her side. “That was a good hit.”

 

“Domina, are you ok?” Pink’s Pearl was by Domina’s side in an instant, frantic. Domina kept laughing. 

 

“Alright, that was awesome,” Amethyst said, wandering over. The Renegade Pearl had as well, and was now lecturing Domina about her stance. “So, is that lighting stuff like what Garnet can do?”

 

“I have no idea.” Yellow Diamond said flatly. Amethyst shrugged and punched her in the arm. Not hard, more of a ‘friendly’ punch if there was such a thing. The sentiment was received by Yellow Diamond but not particularly appreciated. 

 

“Well, good scrap. I call dibs on the next one.” Amethyst said. The statement was so surprising, and to be frank ridiculous, that Yellow burst into laughter before she could stop herself. Though that faded shortly after when Yellow saw Domina’s delighted smile. She looked awkwardly to the opposite side of the sky arena where she could see her own Pearl, who looked away the moment they made eye contact. Next to her, Steven grinned, and Yellow glanced away, the promise she had made weighing on her uncomfortably.

 

****

 

“You should really go to bed.” Pearl said. Domina didn’t look up from her screen. They were on the Styx, and Pearl was letting Domina lean on her while Domina worked through the last of White Diamond’s journals.

 

“I know, I’m almost done.” Domina said. These later entries were actually written in sporadic clumps. Some were all from the same day, then the next set would take place weeks later. She had skipped over the section detailing conception, there were some things she’d rather not know. 

 

What she was reading now basically detailed White Diamond’s final arrangements, what was supposed to be given to Domina, when Yellow Diamond was supposed to take over her teaching, and arrangements made for Domina’s father to ensure his safety, which Domina grudgingly appreciated. 

 

There was no chance that there was anything hidden in the remainder of the entries. There were no tips for gaining control of her powers, no information on reversing corruption, no final regrets. Really at this point, Domina was simply finishing the logs so that she could, in good conscience, delete them. 

 

But of course, her mother couldn’t just end these logs with something simple like a ‘good luck’ or general well wishes. No, she had to end it dramatically.

 

_ Dear Domina, _

 

_ I am writing this perhaps 1 month before you will be born. Past the point of no return, far past it and I must admit to you that I am scared. As far as I know nothing like this has been attempted in the history of our empire. And I hope you won’t blame me for what I’ve left you with. _

 

Domina snorted. Who else should she blame then? Sure, the actual shattering of Pink Diamond had been an accident but the cover up had not been. White Diamond had written about struggling to decide if she should tell Blue Diamond but instead kept it hidden, and left Domina to deal with the fallout. Pearl noticed her reaction and hesitantly glanced over Domina’s shoulder. Domina turned the screen so she could read along.

 

_ We will not be able to exist side by side so I am sorry that I will not be there to help teach you what it is to be a diamond. The three younger ones, Yellow, Blue, and... Pink, spent hundreds of years learning and growing before they ever took control of their first colony. You will be thrust into this experience with only Yellow as your mentor. Yellow... is not the best at dealing with any new gems really and I feel that she will be hit the hardest by your existence and my subsequent loss.  _

 

An understatement really.

 

_ And when the facts of Pink’s death come out know that you are not at fault. The fault is mine and I pay my penance in stepping aside for someone who will be better. Protect them, the empire, your father, your fellow diamonds _

 

_ That's all I ask. _

_ -White _

 

And with that, four thousand plus years of reading was done. And Domina was happy to be done with it. She looked at Pearl, who had an uneasy look on her face, and Domina shook her head. 

 

“But no pressure right? Just make sure nothing falls apart.” Domina said sarcastically. “I mean, there's no possible way that could happen.”

 

“It wasn’t your fault.” Pearl said.

 

“No, it definitely was. Showing the video was definitely one of my worst ideas.” Domina said. “Stars, at least she was transparent with the fact that she was hiding from the mess she made.” She stared at the letter, rereading it, even though all she wanted to do was throw the screen across the ship. Part of her was glad that White Diamond had refrained from referring to herself as Domina’s mother. That may have been true in a biological sense, but from what Domina had learned about human family structure over the past few months, socially that title would fit a... different gem.

 

Pearl put an arm around her and Domina sighed, leaning back into her. She lazily swiped the page away, closing the logs with a dramatic huff. But her swipe revealed that there was one last page. A video. Domina sighed. Just what she needed another fracking video. Then she frowned, confused when a human man sat in the chair opposite the camera. He looked... familiar but she couldn’t quite place him. It wasn’t until Pearl gasped that it clicked who this was.

 

The only time Domina ever remembered hearing her father cry was very late one night, when she was about eleven. He didn’t know she was there and was talking to Pearl about how he never thought that he would forget what his parents looked like. She had decided that the glass of water she had gotten up for wasn’t so important and went back to bed. But she hadn’t really understood what her father had meant. After all, with gems it was hard to forget what someone looked like. Now though, she understood.

 

“ _ Salve filia mea. _ ” Vitus said simply, he had a wide easy grin on his face. Smile lines were beginning to develop around his eyes, his hair only grey at the temples, and he was still moving without a cane. He was so much different than the man she had watched die in front of her so long ago.

 

“Pater.” Domina said on reflex.

 

“ _ And lets be honest, Pearl is probably there too so ‘Salve’ to her as well.” _ Pearl softly chuckled next to Domina, and held her tighter. _ “I’m going to try to make this short because Mossy is getting ready to send you White’s journals and I wanted to add this on to the end.”  _ She had gotten the journals when she was 14, two years into her mandatory time on Homeworld. They had marked the first time Domina started looking at her mother as a person as opposed to some nebulous historical figure. 

 

_ You read gem very, very fast but it might take you a while to get through more than twenty thousand years of entries. Unless you skipped to the end.”  _ Vitus shook his finger at her in mock warning. “ _ Don’t skip to the end, if you did that, go back now.”  _ He chuckled slightly at his own joke and Domina couldn’t help but laugh too, tears were prickling at the corners of her eyes. It wasn’t even that funny. 

 

“ _ But if you did read all the way through, I’m going to assume that I’m no longer... around.”  _ Vitus folded his hands “ _ Which, that’s fine. I know my time is coming eventually. Anyway,”  _ He smiled again. “ _ I just wanted to tell you that it has been amazing watching you grow up. And your affect on the fleet and Pearl! You’re already changing things. White... your mother she was afraid that this would all be too much for you to handle. But you’re taking it in stride.”  _ Vitus leaned closer to the camera. “ _ I’m so so proud of you. I just...”  _ His smile flickered and Domina thought she saw tears to match the ones already streaming down her face. “ _ I wish I was going to be there to see what you become. I love you Domina. Vale.” _

 


	35. XXXV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! Today's chapter (35?!?!) is on the shorter side. I had one particular scene I wanted to get done and I also wanted to give you guys kind of a break as we get into some... interesting chapters starting Monday. Squish helped me beta and we actually ended up with net-1 comma which is amazing in itself.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, see you monday!

“-And so Connie’s coming with us!” Steven said.

 

“And... Connie is your friend who uses your mother’s sword, correct?” Yellow Diamond asked, she had returned to her proper size and spoke to Steven while he was standing on the deck of the beach house.

 

“Yup! She’s really really smart. Her mom said she had to bring her make-up school work with her and promise to not take any unnecessary risks. But Connie said that she was planning on going no matter what!” Steven said. Yellow Diamond frowned. How did a species that reckless manage to survive on this planet?

 

“Well, I’m sure she’ll be a valuable asset,” Yellow said evenly. Steven went quiet, his sign that she had said something that he didn’t agree with.

 

“Well... yeah, but she’s coming cause me and her are a team, we’re jam buds,” Steven said, he looked up at her with an uncharacteristically serious expression. Yellow nodded hesitantly, deciding she wasn’t even going to bother to ask what ‘jam buds’ meant.

 

“I see.”

 

“Sooooo...” Steven said. Yellow Diamond sighed. Why was she putting up with this quartz asking her questions about her emotions and relationships? She could just walk away, there was nothing keeping her here. She looked, and Steven and raised an eyebrow, even knowing that she wasn’t going to like whatever came out of his mouth next.

 

“What?” She prompted.

 

“What was Domina’s mom like?” Steven asked, hopping up on the railing to sit, and looked at her expectantly. 

 

“White?” She said startled, this certainly had not been the question she had been expecting. “White Diamond? Why do you ask?” Steven shrugged.

 

“Because nobody talks about her except really vaguely, like Pink Diamond, but like, even less so. If it wasn’t for the mural on the moon base, I wouldn’t have even known she existed!” Steven said. 

 

“White liked to maintain an aura of mystery.” Yellow said folding her arms. She glanced up at the sky for a moment, focusing at the point in which all of Homeworld’s galaxy was concentrated. There was no reason for her to talk to Steven about this, about White Diamond. She glanced down at his hopeful expression and felt her stony expression soften. Then again, why not?

 

“What do you know about how gems are made?” Yellow Diamond asked.

 

“Um,” Steven rubbed the side of his head. “There’s stuff in the injectors and it goes in the ground and sucks up a ton of life and gems pop out.” he said. Yellow Diamond sighed.

 

“Close enough, the specifics aren’t important.” She said. “What is important is that White was the first. She was alone for hundreds of years. She learned how to make other gems, started the original structures on Homeworld, led the first colonization efforts on the inner planets. She was driven. She didn’t know what the outcome of her expansion was going to be, but she decided she needed help.”

 

“So she made you and Blue?”  Steven asked. “Is Blue Diamond older or are you?” Yellow Diamond hesitated. 

 

“We were implanted at the same time... I emerged,” She stopped herself again and looked away from Steven. If she didn’t say it, Steven was bound to ask more questions. She should just get it out. Quickly, “I emeged 500 years early.” She glanced back at Steven, he looked thoughtful but didn’t say anything.

 

“I was White’s right hand.” Yellow continued, “She entrusted me with designing new gems and ships and systems, surveys of new colony planets, and establishing our military. When Blue emerged, we stayed close but I was always closer to her than I was to Blue. Closer than Blue was to White.” She trailed off, a small smile played on her lips remembering the early days, back when the expansion came so fast and it felt like they were unstoppable. 

 

“So... what about Pink then?” Steven asked. There had been a lingering suspicion in the core of Yellow’s gem that this was a plot by Steven to get her to talk about Pink Diamond, and shards it was going to work.

 

“Diamonds take a lot of energy to grow. So, when a new planet that held that kind of energy came up in our surveys, we jumped at the chance to plant another diamond.” Yellow folded her hands and squeezed her fingers tightly. “White entrusted me to set Pink’s drill. And...” Yellow sighed.

 

“And she didn’t come out when she was supposed to?” Steven asked. Yellow shook her head.

 

“No, she was late, late enough that we just thought she never was going to emerge.” She rubbed the sides of her head. “It wasn’t as if we could just replant in a different section, but the planet was drained dry.” 

 

“But she did come out.” Steven said, in a voice that sounded like he was attempting to cheer her up.

 

“Obviously,” Yellow said with an eye roll. “White and I were on the other end of the galaxy when we got the transmission. So Blue met her first and meanwhile, we almost crashed our ship in the rush to get there.”  Yellow said. She had flown, White had loathed flying, which made both her power set and her daughter’s love of the skill all the more ironic. She remembered White yelling at her to ‘Slow down!’, ‘Watch out!’, and ‘There’s no reason to use a star’s gravity to slingshot through an asteroid field!’.

 

“When White saw Pink, she was... disappointed. I had failed,” Yellow Diamond flinched slightly “I had one job, and I fracked it up.” 

 

“But on the video, it seemed like you guys all got along. More or less.” 

 

“White liked Pink and Blue absolutely adored her. I never was quite able to see eye to eye with her but we could get along on occasion.” Yellow shook her head. “Anyway, White was disappointed in me and all I wanted was to make it up to her. I was determined to show her that Pink was going to be a proper diamond and Pink wanted a colony so much...” She felt her voice begin to choke and paused. Now was not the time, she was not going to snivel in front of Steven. Steven patted her wrist with his comically small hand. 

 

“So, I convinced White to give her Earth, and you know how that turned out.”

 

There was a long moment where the only sound was the waves lapping against the beach.

 

“It’s not your fault.” Steven said finally.

 

“I never said it was!” Yellow snapped. Steven shrugged. 

 

“Yeah but that doesn’t make not true,” He said. Yellow scoffed.

 

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. They’re gone... it’s just me and Blue now.”

 

“And Domina,” Steven prompted. Yellow very softly began to smile

 

“And Domina.”


	36. XXXVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this chapter has been a long time coming, I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. Squish helped me basically relearn to write at this point, I think my monday chapter rough drafts have a tendency to look pretty bad, added 23 comma's this chapter for those who are interested.
> 
> Welp I'll see you guys friday!! enjoy the chapter!

It was late. Late enough that when Yellow Pearl warped back to the beach house, she was bound to get squawked at by White about how Steven needed his rest. Which almost would make it worth it to just stay at the barn until morning. That had the advantage of not having to dodge any disapproving looks from her Diamond. But it also meant that she would have to put up with Peridot’s experimenting. The most recent iteration of the gem’s modified limb enhancers had an unfortunate tendency to accelerate suddenly.

 

Yellow Pearl made one final switch on the power system and the warp core began to build. Pumpkin was asleep on the floor next to the wall; Yellow Pearl probably should deposit her at the barn before she headed back to the beach house. Or she could just spend the evening in the ship. Domina had been kind enough to send her a copy of a fictional series that Connie liked and Yellow had to admit that it was quite interesting. She settled next to Pumpkin and opened her screen.

 

The ship was quiet besides the soft humming of machinery. Though that was immediately dispersed by the door opening and her Diamond walking in. Yellow Pearl scrambled to her feet, inadvertently jostling Pumpkin awake. 

 

“My-my Diamond!” Yellow Pearl stammered out. Yellow Diamond didn’t acknowledge her, which wasn’t much of a change. Instead, she strode over to the ship’s console. The moment the door was clear, Yellow Pearl should have bolted for it. Pumpkin had certainly taken one look at Yellow Diamond and made a break for it. The look on her diamond’s face stopped her though. She looked... well, Yellow Diamond always looked exhausted. She did far more work than was necessary. But this seemed to be a different type of exhaustion.

 

The last time she had seen her diamond like this was... was when White Diamond had set Blue Diamond’s inert gem on a pedestal and let her normal impassive facade fade into tears. So Yellow Pearl, despite her better judgement, stayed. Yellow Diamond looked over the ship’s records, its map of systems and schemata and then sighed, and turned to look at Pearl directly.

 

“When did you learn how to do this?” She asked. Her words were tense, she was irritated but not quite at shock and shatter levels.

 

“If you’re referring to the reprogramming, My Diamond,” Yellow Pearl kept her voice even. She had never really experienced the full extent of her diamond’s wrath, having only been a bystander and really received nothing more than an occasional sharp word. ‘Clod incident’ notwithstanding. “I have had an... interest in the reformation orb’s development since it was presented to you.” 

 

“And I suppose you’ve had an ‘interest’ in quantum programming as well?” Yellow Diamond said, pulling up a screen that showed the rapidly scrolling source code for the ship.

 

“Yes, My Diamond,”

 

“And you expect me to believe that you taught yourself?”

 

“Yes, with all due respect, My Diamond. What do you think I’ve been doing all this time, My Diamond?” Yellow Pearl said. Her Diamond looked away and shrugged.

 

“I’m not sure... I didn’t realize...” Yellow Diamond trailed off.

 

“That I was capable of free thought?” Yellow Pearl prompted. She had heard as much from Yellow Diamond herself on several occasions. Never directed to her specifically more so at pearls in general.

 

“That’s not what I said.” Yellow Diamond snapped at her. Yellow Pearl succeeded in not flinching. Ironically the training she had been strong armed into seemed to be helping on that front. Steven’s constant mantra of “I know it’s scary but, you have to hold your ground,” had basically been engraved into her gem at this point.

 

“No, My Diamond, but that has been... your general opinion on pearls. The opinion of others as well!” she added quickly.

 

“Well, I...” Yellow Diamond grumbled and drummed her fingers on the console before closing out the panel. “Prove me wrong then.” She said. 

 

“My Diamond?”

 

“Show me your work, that you understand this.” Yellow Diamond said. It was an order, though it had uncertainty behind it as opposed to force. Yellow Pearl hesitated, not quite believing the diamond was serious. “...Please?” Yellow Diamond added.

 

Yellow Pearl couldn’t remember the last time her diamond had ever said ‘please’, especially not to her. 

 

“Very well, My Diamond.” Yellow Pearl said, working through her shock. She reopened the data screen showing the ship’s source code and froze it so that it could be inspected. “Where would you like me to start?” 

 

****

 

The early morning walk back from the Big Donut was nice, even in the snow. There had been enough tromping done over the last few days that the path was essentially clear, with plenty of places still available to kick the snow into the air in a satisfying burst of powder. Also the Big Donut had ‘Hot Chocolate’ which tasted a lot better than that coffee Sabina had her try a few weeks ago.

 

“So, I’ve been thinking.” Domina said, swallowing the remains of her jelly filled donut. The snow clump Steven had just kicked was falling around them as they rounded the corner. Yellow Diamond wasn’t out front of the beach house and hadn’t been inside the ship when Domina had woken up that morning. Where she had gone off to, Domina didn’t really know. Which probably made her decision on this a little bit easier.

 

“Oh yeah?” Steven said through a full mouth.

 

“The ship’s going to be ready a week after the planet’s rotational anniversary.” 

 

“Yeah, and New Year’s,” Steven said. Domina wasn’t entirely sure if she hadn’t been clear or if Steven was just being funny.

 

“Yes... so I...” Domina sighed, she needed to take this in stride. “I thought we could give your idea to reverse the corruption a try.” Steven tripped and nearly spilled his hot chocolate.

 

“What? Really?!” Steven stared up at her wide eyed. “You’re serious?” 

 

“I am, under a few conditions,” Domina said. “We try it on one gem, and we stay close.” Steven gave a serious nod. “And if this doesn’t work, then we stop and wait until after everything on Homeworld is settled.”

 

“Deal.” Steven said and held out his hand. Domina hesitated and shook it. A social contract had been struck. “Wow, ok, so um...” Steven finished off his hot chocolate in one gulp before climbing the stairs two at a time. “We need to fuse then!” Steven said. Domina frowned and also downed her drink, wincing at the scalding feeling in her mouth. Fusing with Pearl had been interesting, she had to admit. Though, Domina wasn’t sure she saw the appeal.

 

“Yes, so... how do you do that intentionally?” 

 

“Me and Connie have to just dance a little and hold hands. Me and Amethyst basically just have to hug.” Steven hopped up on the stool in the kitchen and thought. “Garnet said that in order to fuse, two gems have to be in complete sync.”

 

“Well, should be simple enough, we have the same goal.”

 

“Yeah...” Steven hopped down. “Well, what kind of music do you want?”

 

“Can we avoid the music?” Domina asked, standing. “Really, any dancing is going to look rather ridiculous given our height difference.”

 

“We can try...” Steven offered her a hand awkwardly. Domina took a deep breath and took it, focusing on the feeling of what had happened when she and Pearl had formed Sunstone. After a moment she hesitantly opened her eyes. 

 

“Okay, fine... we’ll try music, I can’t dance though.” Domina said.

 

“Yeah you can.” Steven scrolled through his phone and selected a song. “You did with Pink Pearl.” 

 

“Not well.” Domina grumbled, attempting to move to the music. Steven was much better at it than she was. And after three songs and several more attempts, they were no closer to being able to fuse.

 

“We’ll get it I’m sure!” Steven said encouragingly. “Garnet always says how fusion’s different for everyone.”

 

“I’m sure. It just... doesn’t make sense. I mean neither of us have hard light bodies, we shouldn't even be able to fuse in the first place, yet you can with Connie.” Domina said, collapsing on the couch. Steven sat next to her.

 

“Well, you’ve only fused once before... are you sure you want to?” Steven asked.

 

“I do... for this at least,” Domina said. “If it’s the next best option to try healing the gems.”

 

“...but do you want to?” Steven asked again. Domina looked at him, confused. 

 

“I just said-” 

 

“Yeah, I know.” Steven said. “But fusion’s more than just a tool, it’s about a relationship and love and wanting to combine because you care about each other.” 

 

“I do, I just...” Domina sighed, she fingered the white clump in her hair. “Steven... what if this doesn’t work? What if you get corrupted again and I can’t fix it?”

 

“I won’t. It’ll be fine!” Steven said. 

 

“You can’t know that!” Domina snapped “Steven, I saw you corrupting! You almost died! And if... if I lose you, I go back to being alone in the universe.” Seconds after that came out of her mouth, Domina realized how dramatic it was, but the words were true.

  
  


“You’re not alone!” Steven said. “You’ve got Pearl and the fleet and um... Yellow?” Steven said. Domina chuckled.

 

“Yes, but...” Domina said. “They don’t get it. They may be family but...”

 

“...But it’s not the same as knowing that someone else is going through the same stuff.” Steven said, Domina nodded. “But you’ve already figured all this gem stuff out! I’m the one that’s still trying to figure out my powers!” Steven said. Domina laughed.

 

“Steven, I had a new power show up for the first time last year!” She said. “And I’m horrible at human stuff. You’ve been the first person in my life that just treated me like another person.”

 

“Well, what else am I supposed to treat you as?” Steven asked. “We’re friends. Even if we don’t always agree.” Domina smiled softly and stood up.

 

“Yes... right. Come on.” She said, offering him a hand up. “I want to pick the music, one more try.” Steven grinned at her and took her hand. The resulting flash knocked away the coffee table and they both... well they just fell back. There was silence for a moment as the resulting being got their bearings.

 

“Well shards, I guess that’s one way to do that.” The Fusion said, looking at the beach house from a couch that was now way too small for them. The warp pad had just activated which meant that the next few minutes were going to be interesting as hel-... as fu-... as shi-... as heck. The Fusion frowned at their internal censor and got to their feet. Their hair, a uneven mash of Steven’s curls and Domina’s straight hair, with a pale pink lock at the front, just barely brushed the beach house rafters. The Fusion looked down at themself. A red star shirt underneath a black jacket, exposing a pale pink belly gem; somehow both pairs of jeans had merged into a single pair, of course they were barefoot. Their skin though was weird, though they knew that Domina’s skin was always a little weird. In place of the Diamond’s iridescence were patches of Steven’s peachy skin and Domina’s dark brown skin. But most different of all were their hands.

 

“Why the fu-rack do I have 12 fingers?!” They shouted as Yellow Diamond and Yellow Pearl materialized on the warp pad. 

  
  
  



	37. XXXVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I've been looking forward to this chapter and therefore it kind of took a bit. So for reference Domina's lines are in italics and Stevens are bold. I hope you guys like Stevima and all their....idiosyncrasies. Thank you to Squish for betaing because this thing was written in fits and spurts and needed so so many commas (ok only 13 total but still)
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter see you monday!

“What in star’s name?” Yellow Diamond said. The Fusion looked up from their hands and grinned. 

 

“Nah, no stars involved, though, Team Mommy Issues finally managed to mash it up. So maybe you could say they aligned? I dunno,” The Fusion moved passed them to the temple door. Time to get to work. Steven had had a gem in mind from the beginning.

 

“Domina, what is the meaning of this?” Yellow Diamond asked. 

 

“Domina’s only listening in right now.” The Fusion said, waving off the diamond. “How do I get into this thing? Can I?” They looked down at their stomach gem. Steven may have a rose quartz gem and a room in the temple but... their gem was different.  The door to the temple opened and Amethyst stopped mid stride.

 

“Uh... hey.” She said, her face lighting up as she craned her neck back to look at them. “When did this happen?”

 

“Like half a minute ago!” The Fusion said with a grin. Amethyst laughed.

 

“Awesome!  WD ain’t waiting around on fusion round two.”

 

“What?” Yellow Diamond said flatly. The Fusion sighed.

 

“You know, she really didn’t know about Sunny With a Chance of Conversation.” Any further arguments were cut off by the screen door opening.

 

“We’re- Oh!” Pearl (Crystal Pearl? White Pearl? Ma’am? Dam-Dang this was confusing.) said startled. Sabina was behind her, both of them carrying motorcycle helmets and looking a bit flushed.

 

“Woah...” Sabina said.

 

“Hey Pearl, Sabina!” The Fusion said with a wave. They were distracted once again by their one too many fingers.

 

“Uh... so... what are you then... Stevima?” Sabina asked setting her helmet down on the counter.

 

“Yeah, should have seen that coming. I dunno, don’t care, trying to get this thing done so if-” And once again, the temple door opened; this time, Garnet appeared in the doorway, mouth wide. Stevima chuckled nervously.

 

“Pretty cool, right?” They said. “Not as well put together as The Experience or the Yo-Yoing Wonder but eh.” Stevima shrugged. “It’ll get the job done.”

 

“You’re fantastic,” Garnet said. “Don’t worry about them, you are yourself, unique.” Stevima giggled.

 

“Sappy but nice.” They said. 

 

“What... how...? Why are you two fused?” Yellow Diamond asked. Her hand had gone to the bridge of her nose. Stevima really couldn’t tell if she was angry or just baffled.

 

“Steven had an idea, and...” They looked at the door to the temple. “If I explain now I’m just going to have to do it again when the Blue and Pearl, er Pink, er... sh- ards this is hard.” Stevima said with a sigh. As if on cue, door opened. “Awesome, there we go. Hello!” Stevima said with a wave to the two stunned pearls.

 

“Domina?” Pink Pearl asked, blinking up at them.

 

“She’s listening in, we’re going with Stevima. Though gemetically, I think I’m a Morganite.” Stevima looked down at their stomach gem with a frown, then back at the group.  “Which doesn’t make any sense, not any more than an amethyst and rose quartz make a smoky quartz. It’s like it’s completely random,” Stevima began to pace. “It’s kind of funny cause like, a ruby, a sapphire, a pearl, and an amethyst make an alexandrite. God knows what Flourite’s made up of. So many combinations. Theoretically, if you got the right gems you could make a dia-” Stevima stopped mid step, and turned to face Yellow Diamond with a grin that was half Steven’s starry eyed wonder, and half Domina’s incredulous fascination. “Is that why the authority don’t like fusion?” they asked. Yellow Diamond glanced around the room and folded her arms with a frown.

 

“Why are you two fused?” She said sternly. 

 

“Fine, not like both of them won’t bug you about it later.” Stevima said, rolling their eyes. “Steven has a theory that fused, he and Domina... me... us? Can heal the corrupted gems through their dreams. But he’s wrong, so I’m going to try something else.”

 

“Slow down.” Garnet said. “We’ve got plenty of time. Tell us what you’re going to do.” 

 

“Hmm, ok.” Stevima said. “So their powers are basically the same, Steven and Domina can both interact directly with a gem’s base programming. Steven works externally and Domina works internally. I can be a bit more flexible.” They smirked.  “These two dorks already tried working externally and that ended up with Steven being corrupted.” Stevima inspected the section of their hair that had been turned light pink from a combination of corruption and well meaning bleaching. “So I’m gonna give some internal manipulation a try. It’s safer and less likely to end up with one of them... or me... turning into a giant monster.” The room settled into silence. 

 

“That... kinda makes sense.” Amethyst said.

 

“It’s still incredibly dangerous.” Pearl said.

 

“That’s what makes it exciting!”

 

“Just get this over with,” Yellow Diamond said with a sigh.

 

“Right!” Stevima said, clapping her hands together, “The only reason Boy Wonder managed to talk Air to the Throne into this is because they promised to stay close. Steven thinks I should start with the Kindergarten Kid that Could, cause she’s been corrupted for less time.  So, can someone let me into the burning roo-?” Stevima’s voice suddenly shifted, fluctuating between approximations of Domina and Steven’s voices.

 

_ “Burning room, why is it called the-” _

 

‘ **I dunno there’s a lot of fire and lava and st-** ”

 

“ _ But it’s where the bubbles go _ ?”

 

**“Yea-** ”

 

“Ok you two, keep it together.” Stevima said, gripping the fabric of their jeans on either side of their legs. “I haven’t even gotten started yet.” They forced a smile to the rest of the room.

 

“You’re not as stable as you seem,” Blue Pearl said, with a frown.

 

“Nah, I got this. I’m like hybrid squared.” Stevima looked to Garnet. “Burning room?” Garnet looked at Amethyst and Pearl, then adjusted her glasses and opened the burning room. Amethyst brought out the purple bubble holding a jasper gem with triangular facet.

 

“Wait, is that...?” Yellow Diamond asked leaning forward to get a better look. Amethyst chuckled nervously and looked away while Pearl awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.

 

“Oh, this is gonna spawn all kinds of awkward conversations when this is over.” Stevima said.

 

“Yeah, it’s kind of a long story.” Amethyst said. “You need her popped?” Stevima shook their head and took the bubble gently.

 

“No, not yet.” Stevima stared at the gem within the bubble, then closed their eyes, and effortlessly, their gems began to glow. 

 

What happened was not exactly a copy of Domina’s experiences in seeing a person's memory laid out in front of her, nor, was it the feeling Steven got of falling into a dream, it was something in between. Like watching a 3d movie, or viewing a scene from a holoprojector. But it was loud, so loud. And unlike the time spent in the centipeetles’ dream, it was out of focus. Stevima couldn’t make out distinct shapes or feelings other than fear and confusion. They couldn’t hear anything other than dissonant chords playing erratically to the point of being painful. 

 

They pulled out of it violently, flying back into the counter with a crash. 

 

“Are you alright?” Yellow Pearl asked, going to her side.

 

“I’m fine,” Stevima climbed to their feet,”I-” 

 

“ _ This isn’t going to work. _ ” Stevima gripped the table.

 

“ **We can’t do this.** ” Their form began to shudder.   
  


“No! Hold on you two! I can do this! Let me try!” Stevima pounded a fist on the counter and their form suddenly solidified. Everyone in the room took a step back as a wave of air pushed out from them. “I’ve got one shot at this before I get benched, possibly forever.” 

 

“Stevima.” Garnet said calmly. “Relax, everything’s going to be ok.” Stevima was suddenly aware of the states of everyone in the room. They were all worried, some more than others. Stevima needed to make sure they had nothing to worry about.

 

They looked at Amethyst, not for answers, just to have someone to focus on.

 

“I’m missing something.” They said, taking a deep breath “Corruption is a tear in the mind.” Stevima turned and looked at Garnet  “Mind... mind... White is mind.” They touched the gem embedded in their forehead. “Mind, body, and soul. White, Yellow, Blue.” Stevima began to hum, turning to look at a very confused Yellow Diamond. They hummed three notes, high, middle, low and raked their hands through their hands tugging at the pale pink strand.

 

“It’s a song but it’s not right!” Stevima brought their other hand to their temple. “Shards, how do I make it right?” 

 

“What are you talking about?”  Amethyst asked taking the bubble back.

 

“When a gem’s corrupted and Domina took a look at its memories, it’s mostly just noise.” Stevima said, they had gone back to pacing. “The apatite was the same as Jasper. But different than the... centipeetles.” Stevima stopped and turned suddenly. “Of course it didn’t work, Jasper doesn’t remember yet!” Their face broke into a relieved grin. “The centipeetles, the nephrites! They know! Steven’s spent time with them, already tried to heal them physically. They remember they were people!” Their grin faded and they frowned. 

 

“But their song is still dissonant... it needs... it needs... I need to counter it but... a ukulele’s not right... shard how do I- what do I...” Stevima stopped and looked down at Steven’s gem, and felt for Domina’s. In one swift movement the shield and sword were drawn. Stevima stared at the weapons in their hands. 

 

This shouldn’t work. This was so ridiculous. 

 

Stevima sighed and the weapons began to glow, and split and merge until the glow faded and in the place of the shield and sword was...

 

“Are those bagpipes?” Sabina asked.

 

“I am just as confused as you are.” Stevima said. Neither component knew how to play the bagpipes but apparently intrinsic knowledge of how to play weird instruments came with the fusion package. The notes were loud but clear, and played perfectly. ‘F’ Sharp Major Seventh, B Major Seventh and E Major Seventh. Stevima looked at the rest of the group. 

 

“I know what I need to do.”

 

Stevima stood with the world’s dumbest looking bagpipes in the center of the floor of the centipeetle dropship. The corrupted nephrite were in front of her, the group from the beach house behind her. They took a breath and they’re gems glowed. Instantly, they were overwhelmed by the sound of the corruption, and through gritted teeth played the first set of notes, high, middle, low.

 

Stevima could almost hear an echo within the centipeetle’s memories, they played it again, and again and slowly, the corruption’s song began to align, to become orderly. That wasn’t enough though. It was still loud. Like it was panicked. Like they were afraid. Stevima pulled from their components’ own memories, soothing words, and projected them, like Steven or Domina would in a dream, pushing them at the centipeetles. Memories of flying lessons and chapps. Memories of protection and friendship. Stevima began to play quieter and quieter until they weren’t playing at all, until all that was left were the echoes of pain and fear. Stevima felt the heat release from their gems as the restored pictures of memory faded and the rest of the world came into focus. There were three nephrite gems on the ground and Stevima’s heart caught in their throat. 

 

“...Did it work?” Sabina asked hesitantly. 

 

“I... I don’t,” Stevima stammered. They were tired, so tired, like they had been up all night, and they could feel blood dripping from their nose. Holding themselves together was becoming more and more difficult. But this might be the last time they ever ‘were’.  

 

One by one, the nephrite gems rose into the air and humanoid forms expanded.  Stevima gave a sigh of relief and laughed almost hysterically. Then, they let go.

****

Domina landed on her butt next to Steven, feeling like she had just walked gem first into a door.

 

“Domina!” Pearl cried, running over. Domina grinned up at Pearl, still shaky.

 

“Hey Pearl... I think that worked...” Domina said. Pearl sighed and hugged her.

 

“I think you’re right. Do you feel alright?”

 

“Fine, fine, I have a headache, but I’ll live.”

 

“It’s... Steven, right?” A voice said. Domina looked over and saw three nephrites, uncorrupted. There were still some distortions around their eye gems, the lines weren’t quite as straight as they should be. The one that had spoken was obviously the captain. She wasn’t dressed any different than the other two, but Domina could see it her her posture, commanding, alert. 

 

“Ye- yeah!” Steven said, staggering to his feet. He looked as exhausted as she did. “Centi- er wait no you have an actual name.” The Nephrite Captain chuckled, sounding relieved.

 

“Nephrite Facet 1G3K Cut 5CN, These are 4QW and 7HK.” 5CN said gesturing to the other two nephrites.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, officially.” Steven said. Meanwhile, the other two nephrites had taken notice of the odd group congregated in their dropship. Steven followed their gaze and chuckled nervously. “Maybe we should start from the beginning.”

 


	38. XXXVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not going to say a lot about this chapter. It's another one I've been building towards, it is unbeta'd so sorry about that. and.....Let me know if you saw the ending coming.
> 
> See you all friday

Domina got to her feet while Steven attempted to fill the centipeetles in on 5000 years of history. Pearl attempted to help her to her feet but Domina waved her off.

 

“I’m fine, really,” She said.

 

“You’ve said that you’re fine after receiving a concussion, and when bursting both your ear drums, and after you got run over by a herd of..." Pearl frowned thoughtfully. "What were those things?”

 

“That time on 32-KL6? Uh... some kind of ungulate, and this is different,” Domina assured her, “I’ll be fine.” Yellow Diamond was standing by the entrance to the ruined dropship. To say that she looked surprised was an understatement. She actually had the same look on her face as Yellow Pearl which, while amusing, was probably not something Domina should point out.

 

“So, reversing corruption is impossible?” Domina asked, smirking.

 

“That... I...” Yellow Diamond held her hand to her face. “That shouldn’t be possible. None of that should have been possible. Domina what were you thinking, fusing with a quartz?” Domina sighed.

 

“If you’re going to yell at me can we at least take this outside.”

 

“I’m not going to yell at you!” Yellow snapped, only to go red as her outburst garnered them some stares.

 

“Right, of course not,” Domina said. “You haven’t had an issue with Garnet the whole time we’ve been here.”

 

“I... this is different.” Yellow Diamond glanced away.

 

“How? It’s just me and Steven.”

 

“Domina, fusion is what cost us the war, why do you always insist on downplaying it.”

 

“Why shouldn’t I? Why should it still be the only offense on Homeworld that unequivocally ends with shattering.”

 

“Because it disrupts the system, every gem has its place and fusion yanks two gems out of it.”

 

“Well why do we need the system?” Domina said fighting to keep her voice low. Yellow blinked, shocked.  “It seems to have done more harm than good. Because of it, you ended up doing the work of three, shards, four diamonds. You shouldn’t have had to do that!”

 

“Well who else was going to Domina? It’s my job, my place.” Yellow said

 

“According to who? My mother? She’s gone Yellow. It doesn’t have to be like this anymore. My mother is gone and the policies she put in place should go with her. We’re better than this.” Yellow Diamond stared at her for a long moment before pushing herself off the hull of the ship and walking out the door. Domina blinked and turned to look at an equally stunned Yellow Pearl.

 

“That... was not the response I expected from her.” Yellow Pearl said.

 

“Yes... that was... is she ok?” Domina asked. Yellow Pearl shrugged, then hesitated.

 

“Do you really mean that?”

 

“About fusion? Or about the system.”

 

“Both,”

 

“Yes.” Domina said. She glanced to the side where she could see Blue Pearl creeping closer. “And whenever anyone, is ready to bring that up for the future I’ll be more than willing to listen.” Yellow Pearl glanced at a frozen Blue Pearl. Domina smiled at both of them before taking a step back and nearly running into 5CN, Centi, the Captain.

 

“Ah I apologize.. My diamond.” The nephrite said saluting.  Domina inclined herself awkwardly. She glanced down at her jeans and  _ Sadie Killer and The Suspects _ t-shirt. They were like the icing on the top of the  _ weirdest looking diamond in the universe _ cake.

 

“Please, just... call me Domina." She said "I’m so sorry for what happened.” 5CN blinked her singular eye and nodded.

 

“It’s not your fault the evacuation order was clear, the crew should have departed without-”

 

“No. We should have checked that everyone was off planet beforehand.” Domina said, shaking her head. “It’s admirable that your crew waited for you.” Aforementioned crew was watching their captain nervously.

 

“Thank you my... Domina?” 5CN said awkwardly, she looked less tense and Domina smiled and nodded. Nephrites were always pretty flexible, they were used to changes.

 

“What do you plan to do now?” She asked. 5CN looked around the ship with a clearly daunted expression.

 

“Well, I suppose we should start getting the ship in flight ready condition.” She said. Domina nodded.

 

“That would be a good start. Steven’s told you about the trouble on Homeworld and our plan?”

 

“He has.” The nephrite hesitated. “Would you want us to accompany you?” Domina shook her head.

 

“No, no. I can’t ask that of you you just got... back” Domina said awkwardly. “But, will your crew look after the earth, while we’re gone?” 5CN nodded and glanced over at Steven with a smile.

 

“Of course we will. It’s the least we can do.”

 

****

 

“You know I’ve met Blue Diamond too,” a voice said. Yellow Diamond glanced down to see Steven’s father, the earth Vitus. She thought his name was Greg or something. She had been dragged along by Domina, to the local populaces celebration of the planets yearly rotation.

 

Domina was in the process of doing something involving a fire, built by the Renegade Pearls girlfriend, and some sort of edible material made entirely out of sugar. Steven had already offered her one of these smores but she had declined. Politely. 

 

“I have heard about the ‘zoo incident’,” She said frowning. Greg was unperturbed.

 

“Yeah? Steven said you didn’t say much.”

 

“What was I supposed to say? It was just another reason we should have jwiped this planet off the star maps.” Yellow Diamond said. Of course that was probably the wrong thing to say to a native of said planet. But, if it would make him stop poking at her thoughts then so be it. Over by the fire Steven had managed to ignite his most recent sweet. Connie laughed at his antics to put out the fire and offered him hers. The two of them had been... interesting to watch over the last few weeks, they certainly worked together well.

 

“You really hate this planet that much?” Greg asked. Was this where Steven got his annoying habit of prying from?

 

“...I hate the memories this planet reminds me of.” Yellow Diamond said. She glanced down the beach where similarly sized campfires dotted the sand, each with its own cluster of humans. Each awaiting the beginning of a new year.

 

“Yeah I can imagine that doesn’t help moving on, especially being stuck here.”  Greg said. Yellow Diamond frowned.

 

“I have moved on,” She said. Greg looked up at her and smiled, then shrugged.

 

“Yeah, it certainly looks like it.”

 

“I have!”

 

“I believe you, but just because you’ve moved on doesn’t mean it doesn’t still hurt sometimes.” Greg stared at the fire, specifically at Steven, at the Renegade fussing over him, Amethyst eating... something Yellow Diamond was almost positive wasn’t intended to be eaten, and at the fusion who was simply watching the group with a smile on her face. “And it’s ok if it hurts.”

 

Yellow Diamond looked again at the beach, then at the stars, and let her hand come to rest over her gem.

 

“Your son has done enough prodding at my emotions, you do not need to get involved.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“Yeah I know, Stevens good at that.”

 

“He certainly is.”

 

****

 

“One week.” Yellow Pearl said. Blue Pearl nodded and looked down the hill at the sea of campfires below on the beach. They had excused themselves from the festivities roughly an hour ago. Even though they had a choice here. there was something gratifying about managing to steal some time away for themselves.

 

“Yes, we should be having one final transmission with the Omega base and then... that's it.” Blue Pearl said. The weight of what was happening had been building on her since they landed on earth really. They were going to make changes, progress. Star’s they were going to bring the  _ Diamonds _ into this. And they had one on their side!

 

“You don’t sound so enthusiastic.” Yellow Pearl said wryly. “Isn’t this your big goal, topple the entire structure of the empire?” Blue Pearl snorted. It was so nice to be able to laugh, to not be caught in an aura of despair constantly.

 

“I never thought we’d get this far. I mean, I hoped, but I didn’t think it would be anything like this.”

 

“Well congratulations.” Yellow Pearl said. Blue Pearl nodded mutely.

 

“It's thanks to you really," Blue Pearl said finally. Down below a countdown had started. Steven had said there would be fireworks, some kind of aesthetic pyrotechnic, after the countdown, to ring in the new year. “If you had turned me in the first you had heard of the New Rebellion none of this would have happened.” Yellow Pearl shrugged.

 

“What are friends for?” She said getting to her feet. The first of the fireworks had been launched, accompanied by a cacophony of bells and pots and pans banging together on the beach below. The fireworks were simple but Blue Pearl had to admit there was a certain charm to them. They made they’re way down to the beach house as the sky was lit up in flashes of red and green and blue.

 

“Really Yellow, I mean it, I’m sorry that I didn’t think to include you earlier. But thank you for keeping the rebellion a secret.” Blue said as they began to mount the stairs to the house. Steven had mentioned something about movies and popcorn after the fireworks, and Blue Pearl did like popcorn. Yellow looked at her awkwardly for a moment as they stepped inside the beach house.

 

“Blue Your welcome but I-” She began, before the warp pad exploded. Yellow’s shield went off a fraction of a second too late. She dissipated seconds before Blue felt a chunk of crystal rip through her form, sending her back into her gem.

 

****

 

The group hadn’t even begun to pack up the blankets and chairs from the beach before the sound of an explosion sounded from the direction of the beach house. Instantly everything was dropped, and the entire group took off in that direction. Domina managed to outpace everyone by mere second. She burst into the beach house in a gust of wind,followed closely by the Crystal Gems and Steven. Yellow Diamond, still at her full size skidded to a stop outside the beach house. Inside was chaos. Chunks of warp pad littered the interior. As the dust cloud settled, she could make out that the now broken TV,  the decimated couch, and the fist sized hole in the refrigerator. And on the floor, just inside the door were two pearls, one yellow, one blue. But they weren’t alone.

 

“Are we sure she’ll be here? This is the most active entry point but I’m not sure if her proximity-” A Peridot’s voice said, her shape came into view as the dust started to clear revealing she was era 1.

 

“She has to be on planet somewhere, if not we’re kind of out of luck aren’t we?” Said the voice of a Milky Quartz who had pulled the peridot to her feet. A third figure got to her feet, and dusted off a shoulder cape as the dust finally settled.

 

“She will be.” said Mossy Agate.

 


	39. XXXIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! the chapter is early! and unbeta'd due to life being, as the kids call it, 'hella crazy'. I hope everyone's excited for the new episodes, and have remained as unspoiled as they wish to be. I know I am on both accounts!.
> 
> The chapter is a little short today but I wanted to get a few things wrapped up before monday when we finally wrap up this arc. and hit forty chapters.... forty chapters.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter! See you all monday!

The trio at remnants of the warp pad froze at the sound of weapons being drawn. Domina didn’t move, she was also frozen, her mouth hanging open in shock, Pearl was next to her in a similar state. Steven bent to the ground and carefully retrieved Yellow Pearl and Blue Pearl’s gems. The trio turned to face the group, Mossy Agate had already drawn her blaster while 9ZQ had summoned her Katar and moved Peridot 9NY behind her. Then their eyes widened as they saw the group. More importantly, the two figures at the front.

 

“Well...” 9NY said finally breaking the silence. “That was fast.” What came out of Domina’s mouth in response was not recognizable in either language she spoke. But she shouted it as she flung herself at the group. 9ZQ burst into laughter and enveloped Domina in a bone crushing hug.

 

“Oh my stars!” 9ZQ said spinning Domina around in a circle before setting her down in front of her.

 

“You, you,” Domina stammered swaying on her feet in glee. She leapt at 9NY and hugged her with the same ferocity, while the other gem went rigid. “You figured it out! Connecting immediate and distant warp space! Stars you’re brilliant!” She put the blushing Peridot down, and then launched herself at Mossy, who gave Domina a world weary sigh and patted her on the back.

 

“Glad to see you’re alright, My Diamond.” She said.

 

“Good to see you too Mossy.” Domina said with a laugh. Garnet coughed and Domina went red and turned to look at the group. “Uh.. are they alright Steven?”

 

“Yeah...” Steven said, he was taking the sudden chaos of his house in stride and instead focused on searching for something. Moments later he put a familiar pillow on his bed and set both gems on it. “So um.. Hello, again.” He said. 9ZQ grinned.

 

“Yeah I remember you. Pipsqueak that shouted Dominas name from the other end of the base. Hey is your friend with the quartz sword he-.”  The milky quartz paused and turned to focus on White Pearl, then noticed Garnet standing next to her. “Well, why don’t I just go frack myself.” she muttered.

 

“Moss Agate.” White Pearl said with a frown. Mossy rolled her eyes.

 

“Of course you managed to survive, and the fusion.”

 

“Her name’s Garnet.” Domina said folding her arms. Mossy paused glanced at Domina and then nodded.

 

“You blew up the warp pad.” Garnet said folding her arms. 9NY chuckled nervously

 

“Uh yes, sorry this has been an imprecise science, and typically before, the state that the receiving warp pad was in was irrelevant.” 9NY said glancing around at the wreckage, then hesitantly at where Steven had set the two gems. “I do apologize for anyone who may have been dissipated in the process and erm the damage to you dwelling. The warp pad however I can fix.... probably.”

 

“Wait are you a Peridot” Amethyst asked. 9NY blushed and began to answer. 9ZQ got there first though.

 

“Yeah she’s a Peridot, what about it short stuff?” The Milky Quartz said defensively, as if she had been the one insulted. Domina glanced at Mossy who was giving the pair a very significant look.

 

“Oh! You gotta problem, you wanna go?” Amethyst said taking a step forward. 9ZQ took a matching one only to be blocked by a hand from Pearl. Amethyst was similarly pulled back by White Pearl.

 

“Zee!” 9NY scolded.

 

“Amethyst!” Steven said. From the outside they could hear Sabina’s voice.

 

“Yellow, move your butt!” she shouted. There was a disgusted grumble and seconds later Sabina and Connie burst into the room.

 

“Oh... more people.” Sabina said awkwardly. Connie looked around the house and up at Steven who shrugged.

 

“Quartz sword kid!” 9ZQ said grinning, her anger immediately defused. Connie smiled awkwardly. Then the trio went tense as Yellow Diamond stepped through the door. She raised an eyebrow at the newly arrived gems, then looked at Domina.

 

“From the fleet, They’re alright!” Domina said with a grin that at this point just wouldn’t stop.

 

“I see that,” She said then looked around with a frown “Where’s...”

 

“She got poofed, she and blue are up here. They’re ok” Steven finished for her. Yellow Diamond nodded. 9NY looked like she was going to dissipate on the spot, and 9ZQ shifted nervously. Mossy seemed to be the only gem unaffected. Instead she cast her eyes over the group before stopping at the portrait on the wall.

 

“So... where is Rose Quartz?” She said, looking at Garnet and Pearl.

 

“Domina you didn’t tell them?” Steven asked

 

“I said I’d keep it all quiet.” Domina said. Yellow Diamond frowned from her spot leaning against the wall

 

“Oh.. uh.. Thanks I guess.” Steven said, then awkwardly raised his shirt to reveal his gem. “Rose was my mom which... I guess I don’t have to explain that to you guys...”

 

9ZQ’s mouth dropped open as she excitedly looked from Steven to Domina and then back again. Even the normally unflappable Moss Agate looked shocked.

 

“My Diamond,” Mossy finally said, “You’re going to have to bring us up to speed.”

 

****

 

The various beings who needed sleep in the beach house eventually got it. One way or another. Connie and Steven fell asleep first, leaning against each other, wrapped in a blanket Greg had put around them.

 

Sabina had put an arm around White from they’re spot on the floor and slowly nodded off against her shoulder.

 

Greg excused himself shortly after Steven and Connie had passed out saying that this was probably all going to go over his head, and that he’d call to get the refrigerator,couch and tv replaced in the morning.

 

Domina held out the longest, pacing to keep herself awake through Mossy Agates report of the group's escape from the fleet. She tried to keep her emotions in check when 9ZQ talked about the loose gems that scattered the floor of the base. She tried to keep her voice down as Peridot 9NY filled in the specifics of their clandestine warp travel. And she finally succumbed to sleep, during the end of the story when they had used the ship of a very arrogant Hessonite to jump start the last warp to earth. That is, after Pink had pulled her down to the floor and practically held her there.

 

“Well,” Garnet said “I’m sure Red will be glad to know that the warp networks going down was nothing to worry about.”

 

“Red?” Mossy asked.

 

“Our contact with the new rebellion. Blue was going to check in after we tested the ship, I suppose I’ll have to now.” Pink said gently carding her fingers through Domina’s hair. Not that she had to be gentle, Domina had always been hard to rouse. Mossy raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yellow Diamond who rolled her eyes.

 

“I’ve known.” She said, “Not that there’s much more that can surprise me about this stars cursed situation.”

 

“I’m sure we can come up with something.” Amethyst said grinning at Yellow Diamond who simply sighed in response.

 

“So... does, Domina finally know about all this then?” Mossy asked.

 

“About my involvement yes, Not your’s”  Pink said.

 

“Wait, wait," 9ZQ held up her hands "Both of you are involved in the rebellion?” She asked. “I mean like I can understand you,” She gestured at Pink who rolled her eyes. “But Mossy?”

 

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Mossy Agate said with a smirk at White. White froze as the eyes of the room turned towards her and sighed, irritated. 

 

“That was payment, I see you put the information you were given in return for the ship to good use.” She said. Pink looked between them then looked at 9ZQ who gave an exaggerated shrug.

 

“Second only to the beyrls and White Diamond herself. It was about as a good as use as you did that ship.” Mossy said.

 

“What?” Yellow asked, surprised.

 

“See told you so.” Amethyst said. Pink shook her head.

 

“Anyway, 9ZQ can you carry her to the Styx?” Pink asked gesturing at the half diamond sprawled across her lap. 9ZQ gave her a half salute and a smile before gently picking up Domina and placing her over her shoulder. Domina didn’t even stir.

 

“Good to see you too Pinky.”  


	40. XL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I just watched the new episodes and... have so many feelings and ranting about it, part of the reason this chapter is a bit late. but I have a lot to say about this chapter because well. it's the 40th.As always thanks to squish for betaing  
> When I first got in to Steven Universe I was instantly excited. In depth world building, memorable characters, and songs, What's not to like? Then of course I went searching for more, you have to do something during the hiatuses, and I dived head first into live blogs. Eventually I came across mindareadsoots and the infamous post. I hadn't written for a long time and when Minda said the idea of white diamond also being a hybrid might make good fan fiction fodder I thought, hey well I could do a one shot or a few chapters, it'll be fun a break from the norm. 20 chapters later I was exhausted but thought "hey that's a pretty neat story. maybe I'll write more" and here we are two fics later. 40 chapters in and really only just getting started. I never expected Domina's story to get this big and I am so thankful to everyone who has followed this so far. And I hope you will all stick around in the future.

_ 7 _

Domina awoke onboard the Styx in her bunk, tucked into it in a way that only a quartz could. It took her a few moments to extradite herself from the blankets. After she dressed, she exited the Styx and found 9ZQ leaning against the side of the ship. The milky quartz glanced at her with a smile.

 

“Well, Pebble, looks like you’ve gone native.” She said with a grin, gesturing at Domina’s clothes. Domina rolled her eyes.

 

“Well, it has been almost six months. You know you don’t have to tuck me in, I am four thousand six hundred and thirty nine years old.”

 

“You’re four thousand six hundred and thirty  _ three, _ ” 9ZQ corrected. Domina smiled slightly.

 

“So, why are you standing guard?” She asked. 9ZQ snorted

 

“More like leaning guard, not much else to do. I already did my bit helping Earth-Vitus get the house back in order and Mossy sent me out here cause I was being ‘distracting’ while NY was fixing that warp pad.” She said.

 

“‘Earth-Vitus’ has a name you know. It’s Greg.”

 

“I’ll care when he punches a full-sized quartz in the face.” 9ZQ said, recounting Vitus’ claim to fame among the fleet. Domina sighed.

 

“Come on, you should try these things called donuts.”

 

****

“These modifications are fascinating!” Peridot 9NY knelt next to the workbench where Peridot 5XG had laid out the final iteration of her improved limb enhancers. Pink Pearl stood nearby, volunteering to keep an eye on 9NY while Domina and Yellow Diamond went over the final checks for the ship. 5XG had taken the Era One peridot’s sudden appearance well, all things considered. 

 

“Yes, well thank you, not every Peridot would be capable of creating such versatile equipment.” 5XG preened. Pink Pearl rolled her eyes and spotted Lapis and Steven up on the second floor of the barn, talking. Lapis looked... hesitant. She knew the boy had been trying to convince the terraformer to come with them to Homeworld. She hoped he was successful. They were going to need all the help they could get.

 

****

“Alright, systems are go, let’s see what this thing can do!” Domina said, hopping into the pilot's seat with glee. Yellow Diamond frowned. 

 

“If all the systems are online and functioning properly, then it can wait.” She said. Domina frowned.

 

“Why would we?” She asked. “They said we were free to take the test flight whenever.”

 

“And I’m saying it can wait,” Yellow Diamond said, folding her arms, “My Pearl put enough work into this, the test flight can wait until she can witness it. She should only be two more days.” Domina blinked, then slowly smiled.

 

“Alright,” She said.

 

“Don’t give me that look.” 

 

“What look?” Domina said, her grin widening. This was too good.

 

“That... one.”

 

“But Yellow! You’re caring about other people!”

 

“I- I-” Yellow Diamond sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose before gesturing at Domina. “I’m simply saying she deserves to see how her work played out.” Domina’s smile softened.

 

“Alright, we can wait.”

****

 

Milky Quartz 9ZQ was among the best soldiers in the fleet. She had to be after all, to be part of White Diamond’s personal guard, which made staring up at a  _ ridiculous _ spear held by White Diamonds former pearl all the more embarrassing. It didn’t help that she could hear Domina laughing from the stands.

 

“Alright, I give.” 9ZQ said. “You win.” The pearl twirled her spear and it dissipated before she helped the Quartz to her feet.

 

“I always do.” 

 

_ 6 _

 

“I brought chaaps!” Steven said leaping into the newly righted drop ship. Domina followed him with Mossy right behind her. 

 

“Really?” 5CN called from above them. The trio craned their necks back to see the nephrites clinging to the ceiling, welding the inner hull.

 

“Yeah! I brought as many flavors as me and Domina could find!”.

 

“I’m sorry though, I’m going to have to keep the salt and vinegar ones.” Domina said. 

 

“Is that Moss Agate?” 4QW, the main engineer, asked. Mossy raised an eyebrow.

 

“4QW? This is where you’ve been all this time?” She asked. Nephrite 4QW dropped from the ceiling. And landed easily in front of them. 

 

“You managed to stay out of the war?” 4QW asked, baffled.

 

“I... I did.” Mossy said, then she noticed Domina and Steven looking between then with fascination. “Er, My Diamond, Steven, this is Nephrite 4QW she served with the primary section of the colonization fleet for some time.”

 

“We’ve met!” Domina said. “I didn’t realize you were with the fleet.” 

 

“Yes, yes, for several centuries.” 4QW said. “How did you get here?”

 

“Ah yes, that's a bit of a long story.” Mossy said rubbing the setting of her gem.

 

“We’ve got time!” 5CN called, walking down the curve of the ship to the floor. “And I’d like to be able to enjoy these Chaaps without any acidic interference for once.”

 

****

 

“Why am I here?” Yellow Diamond said, looking at Amethyst and Steven sitting next to her in rather uncomfortable metal chairs.

 

“Because it’s fun.” Steven said, offering her popcorn. Yellow Diamond reluctantly took some and rolled her eyes at Amethyst’s widening grin.

 

“I fail to see how watching humans in ridiculous appearance modifiers fight each other is ‘fun’.”

 

“Come on Yellow D. Relax.” Amethyst said, before the crowd erupted into cheers over a human in some kind of reptile costume being pinned to the ground. Yellow Diamond sighed, and took more popcorn.

 

_ 5 _

Her pearl reformed right on schedule. Yellow Diamond looked up from her screen to see her gem rise into the air and her form expand, flip through a few previous form before settling as she landed gracefully. The shoulder frills were gone, along with, Yellow Diamond noted with amusement, the stockings. Instead, Yellow Pearl wore sheer pants over her leotard, gathered at the ankle. And on her arms, short, smooth sleeves. She looked down at herself with a smile before noticing Yellow Diamond.

 

“Oh, My Diamond!” She said, bowing. “I... apologize if my new form is not to your liking.” Yellow Diamond stood, closing her screen.

 

“You look fine, Pearl.” She said before hesitating, should she say more? “You... It’s good to have you back.” Her pearl stared at her and nodded. Satisfied, Yellow Diamond stepped onto the warp pad. “If you’re up to it, the ship has yet to have its test flight.” She said. Yellow Pearl frowned.

 

“Did something happen? I was sure that the systems would be ready before I reformed.” She said.

 

“No, I simply thought that you might want to see it in action.” Yellow Diamond said. “If you did not, then-”

 

“No!” Yellow Pearl interrupted then slammed her hand over her mouth. “I... I’m sorry My Diamond, I-”

 

“We’re a bit beyond that aren't we,” Yellow Diamond said with a small smile. “Come along, let's see what it can do.”

 

_ 4 _

“Omega base seven dot nine three two.” Pink Pearl said. “Are you receiving?” This time the beach house was mostly full so secrecy was basically a moot point amongst their group. 

 

“We are! Hello, Pink.” Red said after a moment of fumbling. “How did the test flight go?”

 

“Good, so we will be leaving as soon as we-” Pink was cut off by a shriek of feedback from the wailing stone.

 

“Shards, what was tha-” Red began before another voice cut through the transmission.

 

“Hey, so I’m going to guess that this super secret, super old channel has Earth on at least one of the ends.” A distinctly Amethyst voice cut through the slightly staticy signal. Pink froze and looked at White and Yellow who were both in varying stages of panic. Garnet’s mysterious smile was one of the reasons Pink hadn’t automatically cancelled the transmission. The other was the fact that Amethyst, their amethyst, had slid into the transmission stream.

 

“Holy cow, Sharky! Is that you?” Amethyst asked. From the other side, there was a cheer in the background, whatever they had patched into the wailing stone transmission was receiving the entire room. 

 

“8XM!” this ‘Sharky’ said. “Awesome! Guess that means Skinny’s not all talk.” from the background they could hear a: “told you so!”

 

“Uh... who is this?” Pink Pearl said hesitantly. White at the very least seems to have relaxed slightly. 

 

“Ah, Amethyst 8XK we’re uh... Well all of us here are from Earth we were hopping 8XM and her friends could help us out of a tight spot.” Sharky said. 9ZQ perked up and nudged Domina. She had to have known them.

 

“What’s going on?” Amethyst asked.

 

“The Zoo uh... Well I guess you could say it’s under new management.” Sharky said. “Holly’s still here but they brought in this Sodalite and uh... she’s a nasty piece of work.” 

 

“The Zoo is on the way. And Amethyst’s family may be willing to help us after, especially if the rose quartzes are unbubbled,” Garnet said with a thoughtful frown. 

 

“Uh... If I may cut in.” Red’s voice said again. “The Zoo was in the terms of the agreement.”  Domina walked over and stuck her head in the transmission stream. Pink Pearl sighed and simply stepped out of the way. 

 

“It was.” Domina said. On the other end, Red Pearl squeaked in surprise. “8XK right?” She asked glancing at the remainder of the room. “Could you fill us in on the details?”

  
  


_ 3 _

Blue Pearl landed on the floor of the beach house delicately and looked down at her new form.  Without having to clear the hair from her eyes. No more leotard, instead a tunic and pants, not unlike White’s form from the time of the war on earth. And instead of a sheer skirt she now wore a sheer cape. 

 

“Blue, you’re back!” Steven cheered from the kitchen where he and Domina were sitting and eating. White, Pink and a newly reformed Yellow, looked over her with a smile.

 

“You have eyes!” Domina said cheerily. Blue Pearl couldn’t help it, she burst into laughter.

 

“I know! And socks!” She said lifting up a foot that had been bare for far too many years.

 

“How does it feel, Blue?” White asked. Blue Pearl’s laughter continued until there were tears in her eyes, tears of relief. 

 

“I feel so... so happy.”

  
  


_ 2 _

“What is all that?” Domina asked, holding the door to the room they had set up for the human and hybrids to sleep in. Connie set down a bulging bag with a huff.

 

“An entire semester's worth of schoolwork.” She said. “My mom said that if I didn’t know how long this was going to take, I had to bring everything.”

 

“Wow, cellulose based books? Aren’t those unwieldy?”  Domina asked looking over Connie's shoulder as she put things away.

 

“Yeah, but I like paper books, they have a good smell.” Connie said. “So... do you think I’ll actually have time to do any of this?”

 

“Probably. I find that when it comes to gems, there's always more downtime than you expect. What type of ‘schoolwork’?” Domina asked, she had heard about education on Earth from both Sabina and Connie in pieces, but never anything in depth. 

 

“Um, a lot of Earth science, geometry and basic statistics, and stuff for English.” Connie said, setting each book next to a notebook, neatly.

 

“Oh, geometry, Euclidean or non-euclidian?”

 

“Uh... Euclidian?” 

 

“Oh.” Domina said disappointedly.

****

Sabina set a large cardboard box in front of Domina on the counter with a loud thunk, causing Domina to nearly fall off the stool.

 

“Alright, so there’s ramen noodles in here, which last forever, but they’re not really good for you so don’t eat them all at once.”

 

“Wait, what?” Domina asked, peering into the box. There were indeed ramen noodles in the box, along with an assortment of candy and chips that she had been introduced to over the months.

 

“There's also some seeds and a detailed manual on their growth requirements,” Sabina continued. “You’re smart I’m sure you could figure out how to rig up some hydroponics.”

 

“I... what?” Domina asked.

 

“And I didn’t include any chemicals cause I figured you could get those, but there's some more information on hair dyeing, especially if you want to keep your white streak.”

 

“Um... thank you?” Domina said looking in the box again, there was more, a small stack of books. “What are these?” She asked pulling out the top one, the front said  _ The Aeneid. _

 

“Oh! Right, I talked to Buck Dewey, because that’s who you talk to when you need obscure literature, and he sent a bunch of his old books,” Sabina said as Domina flipped through the pages. The words looked familiar. She hadn’t ever read Latin outside of her father’s lessons.  “All of them are in Latin, I think a lot of it is pretentious stuff about duty and honor and stuff but he did say there was some Sappho in there so...” Domina looked up at her, then back at the book then at Sabina again.

 

“You... you don’t have to give me all this.” she said.

 

“Well duh, I know that but hell who knows when you’re going to make it back to Earth for an extended stay.” Sabina said with a grin. Domina nodded, stunned. 

 

“Anything I can do for you?” She asked. Sabina shrugged.

 

“Just make sure they all get back safe. That’s all I want.” 

  
  


****

Steven set the last of his stuff on his side of the room, giving Domina a furtive glance. As he quickly shoved a box under a pile of red shirts. Domina tried not to watch him, pretending she was much more interested in the book of poetry infront of her than what he was doing. 

 

“So... I uh... guess that’s it.” Steven said. “We leave tomorrow.”

 

“Yes we do.” Domina said without looking up, her eyes had been focused on the same word for the past 5 minutes.

 

“So... after you’re going to come back right and we’ll finish uncorrupting the gems?”

 

“Of course,” Domina said. “It’ll probably have to be done in batches, I don’t know how many gems Stevima can do all at once.”

 

“I think three might have been too many.” Steven said, “Maybe we could get the galaxy warp set back up and you could come over easier.”

 

“That would be nice.” Domina said.

 

“Yeah... so... I’m going to go order pizza for dinner um, and I think everything is ok in here and doesn’t need to be checked.” Steven said. Domina blinked, and looked at Steven who was sweating nervously, eyes definitely trying not to dart to his space.

 

“Right...” Domina said.

 

“Ok! Uh... pizza will probably be here soon so um... See you then.” Steven said before dashing out of the room. Domina waited a total of two minutes before sliding off the bed and peeking at the box he had hid. Inside were two carefully packed bubbled gems. One with the jasper that Stevima had tried to heal, the other was a bismuth. But there was nothing wrong with the bismuth. 

 

_ 1 _

 

“Alright, have you two ever been on a ship with a gravity drive before?” 9ZQ asked. At the front of the ship, White Pearl and Domina were working through the flight precheck.

 

“We were on the head ship last year.” Connie said. Pink Pearl sat nearby the trio in one of the chairs that circled the bridge. Peridot and Lapis were nearby. Peridot was relaying questions between the bridge and the engine room where Yellow Pearl and 9NY were busy with last minute adjustments, while Lapis gripped the edge of her skirt with a closed fist.

 

“Yeah, and that was completely different from the Roaming Eye, and the Sun Incinerator.” Steven said.

 

“Yeah the Headship is over-built. You are probably going to feel a little more inertia this time around.” 9ZQ said. 

 

“As long as no one ends up flying through a planet it should be fine!” Steven said.

 

“Yeah, wait... what?” 9ZQ asked.

 

“9ZQ, sit down.” Mossy Agate scolded from her place near Amethyst, Garnet, and Yellow Diamond.

 

“Oh please Mossy, it’ll be fine, I’ve done this a million times.” 9ZQ said rolling her eyes.

 

“And you’ve fallen and complained everytime. This is why I don’t work with quartzes!”

 

“Because we’re too sensible?”

 

“Oh don’t even start.” Mossy said. Over Steven and Connie’s heads, Pink could see Blue Pearl’s eyes flickering between the Quartz and Agate with an ear-splitting smile.

 

“Alright, we’re taking off. Zee, sit down.” Domina said from the co-pilot’s seat. 9ZQ grumbled and sat next to Blue Pearl. The ship’s engines rumbled an even hum as it began to lift. From the view monitor they could see Greg, Sabina, and Pumpkin watching the ship as it rose about the barn and into the upper atmosphere.

 

“How does it look back there, Yellow?” White called.

 

“Perfect!” Yellow Pearl said, poking her head out of the engine room. “It’s perfect!”

 

“Great.” Domina said with a grin. White Pearl smiled and brought up the system display. With a few clicks, they could hear the gravity engine whir to life. In front of them, space began to warp, and the ship compressed to speed through the rip in reality, away from Earth.

 

_ 0 _


	41. XLI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I think I'm finally calming down from the reveal from Monday. In case if you were wondering, I will not be incorporating the information from the new episode, I've just got a lot on my plate for this story and completely reshaping the narrative at this point is a little bit daunting. But I did love the episodes, and I'm pumped to see where the show goes from here. also.. I wouldn't be opposed to a one shot, later, maybe. Thanks to Squish for betaing, only added 7 comma's this time around but.. man..grammar is hard. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm excited for this next story arc! 
> 
> See you monday

Domina had never seen the Human Zoo in person. She knew about it of course. It was where her food came from. It was where her father had been... procured from. It was the one place that her father had never talked about with anything other than haunted eyes and pursed lips.

 

She had asked him about it once, before she had left for Homeworld.

 

“They stripped us of our identities,” He said. “They put us into an enclosure that was a laughable imitation of some part of Earth that I certainly had never been to, and then they left us there. I remember being bored out of my mind, I didn’t know these people and the gods know all I wanted to do was go home.”

 

Domina had had more important things to worry about at the time, like futilely convincing Yellow Diamond that she should care about other gems. But Vitus’ words had lingered in the back of her mind. They came to the surface in nightmares of being trapped, ripped from her family, isolated, spiritless.

 

“Alright, so what, are we just gonna Esteban it again?” Amethyst asked, yanking Domina out of her thoughts.

 

“Are we gonna what?” 9ZQ asked. The group had congregated in the bridge. White Pearl had set the autopilot controls, and rolled her eyes at Amethyst’s question.

 

“That barely worked the last time, Amethyst, and there are more people involved.” White Pearl said. 

 

“We have to be careful with this,” Blue Pearl said, “I don’t believe we will have to worry about My- Blue Diamond visiting the zoo. But, as for Sodalite, her guards, and the kunzites over the technical portions, we need to ensure that none of them transmit a message to Homeworld.”

 

“What’s a Kunzite?” Connie asked hesitantly. Peridot 5XG gave a superior snort.

 

“Low level technicians, they don’t have any specific skill sets, but can occasionally be substituted for actual experts.” She said.

 

“Pink peridots,” Yellow Diamond said, folding her arms. “Same niche, different resource.” 5XG blushed and looked away. Lapis frowned and glared at Yellow Diamond, who of course, ignored it.

 

“That's not true, peridots are olivine, kunzites are pyroxene,” Domina said, then stopped. “Wait no, that came out wrong.”

 

“Anyway,” Blue Pearl interrupted, giving the two Diamonds a pointed look, she then turned to Pearl. “You know this place better than anyone. What are our options?” Domina glanced at Pearl who sighed as she projected an image of the Zoo into the center of the group. 

 

“All essential systems, including communications are housed here, directly above specimen containment.” Domina tried not to flinch as she pointed at an area just above the lower part of the station. 

 

“That’s in the middle of the station.” Yellow Pearl said with a frown, “We won’t be able to reach there without attracting attention.”

 

“What about ventilation shafts?” Connie asked, leaning forward to inspect the hologram. “Is there any connection between the containment area and that room.”

 

“There... is.” Pearl said, glancing at White Pearl hesitantly. Domina frowned. 

 

“What good would...” She began before things began to click in her head. “No, that’s a bad idea.”

 

“Well we kinda already did that once...” Amethyst said. 

 

“Yeah and it worked! Mostly...” Steven said. “If me and Connie go inside the Zoo we could get up through the vents.”

 

“Assuming you weren’t noticed,” Domina said.

 

“Well, then another group of people could maybe cause a distraction and another could take care of the guards.” Steven said. Domina sighed and looked at the rest of the gems. Garnet rubbed her chin thoughtfully. 

 

“It could work.” She said.

 

“Alright, so who’s going to be able to cause enough of a distraction to keep everyone’s attention but not enough to make them call Homeworld?” 9ZQ said. 

 

“A surprised visit from a few elites, trying to stay in the good graces of the new leader of the empire would do it.” Blue Pearl said glancing at Lapis.

 

“No,” Lapis said immediately. “No way I’m not doing this.”

 

“Please, Lapis!” Steven, stars already forming in his eyes. “They would recognize Sapphire and you’re our best chance!” 

 

Domina really hadn’t interacted with Lapis a whole lot. The gem kept to herself and Domina had a healthy fear of any gem that could control things that were required for her to live. She also knew that Lapis wasn’t exactly a Crystal Gem, and really only stuck around for Steven and Peridot’s sake. Domina was surprised she had even come along on this mission, and suspected that Steven had something to do with convincing her. So she had expected Lapis Lazuli’s reluctance to participate in any plan, especially one as utterly insane as this.  

 

What Domina hadn’t expected was, after a moment of internal deliberation, for Lapis Lazuli to purse her lips and nod to Domina.

 

“Only if she goes with me.”

****

 

This was a half-formed plan at best. One that Blue Pearl was almost positive was going to fail the moment the six of them, Domina, Lapis Lazuli, herself, White, Connie, and Steven, stepped off the ship and into the hanger of Pink Diamond’s zoo. They were met by a pair of cryoprases, pale green quartzes, with gems on the backs of their opposing hands. The first step was going to be getting them out of the hanger so the remainder of the group on board the ship could disperse into the Zoo. Lapis Lazuli stepped forward to address them, only to stop as another gem came around the corner.

 

“Who has docked?” A sodalite asked. “She shouldn’t be here yet.” Her gem was on the side of her head and she wore a short, pale blue cloak, Blue Pearl recognized her immediately. Sodalite cut 0AV was a direct member of Blue Diamonds Court, and had over seen the destabilizing of multiple civilizations who hadn’t been interested in cooperating with the empire. She had been present on Earth, at the sky arena when Garnet had first formed. What in stars’ name was she doing  _ here _ ?  Sodalite turned to look at the approaching group and broke into a wide smile.

 

“Lapis Lazuli,” She said, descending the stairs. Behind her, a blue pearl carefully keeping pace.

Lapis had gone completely still, her mouth having dropped open in shock. “I didn’t think you had survived the war.”

 

“I- I uh.” Lapis blinked before finally finding the words. “I can’t quite believe it myself. What are you doing out here Sodalite?” Blue Pearl glance out of the corner of her eyes to Connie and Steven, who both kept glancing back at the ship. Domina and White looked similarly uncomfortable, though Domina had looked uncomfortable from the moment Pink had suggested White pose as Domina’s pearl.

 

“Oh, some personal projects I’ve been working on necessitated being in this area.  The fact that our Diamond needed someone more competent running this memorial to the was a pleasant bonus.” Sodalite said, her smile not wavering as she inspected the group. Blue Pearl could see Domina practically holding her breath, trying to remain stoic. Though the Diamond had expressed several doubts, loudly, that this wouldn’t work. “And a Goshenite?” Sodalite chuckled slightly. “There’s still some of you in service? Fascinating.” Domina gave a smile that was probably more relief than anything.

 

“Only a few, we’ve brought some... specimens for the zoo,” She said, gesturing back to where White was keeping hold of Connie and Steven.

 

“Ah yes, of course,” Sodalite gestured quickly to the quartzes who came over, and each took one of the kids who put up a spectacular show of resistance. Blue could see Domina’s jaw tense and Lapis’ fists curl even tighter. Even she had to remind herself that this was part of the plan. Steven and Connie would be alright. Sodalite tutted.

 

“So noisy. Goshenite, I will make sure that your generous donation is noted. Have you been out in the colonies? I know what it’s like to try to keep some semblance of favor with a Diamond when you’re so far away.” Domina smiled.

 

“I’m glad someone does.” She said.

 

“Sodalite might we... get a tour of the facility?” Lapis asked, her voice was carrying the weight of authority Blue Pearl remembered from hearing her speak at court. Lazulis were rare, not counting the one currently present, there were only three others, all part of Blue Diamond’s immediate court. But this one in particular had been a force to be reckoned with. 

 

“Ah yes, of course, of course. You’ve come so far,” Sodalite said before turning and addressing her own Pearl. “Fetch Holly Blue Agate and-”

 

“Really, are you going to be rid of us so soon?” Lapis interrupted, a plainly fake smile on her face. “It’s been so long, we really ought to catch up, Sodalite.” Sodalite paused and looked at the four of them, at the Pearls, Domina, and then the ship.

 

“You are absolutely right, Lazuli,” She said before addressing her pearl who had bowed to her. “Have Holly Blue Agate inform me the moment that Aquamarine’s ship docks.” Blue Pearl, felt something cold shoot through her gem. They hadn’t accounted for an Aquamarine. 


	42. XLII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAnd we're back! I am so sorry about Monday guys, I had some real world stuff catch up to my existential crisis about the new episodes seasoned with a liberal sprinkling of burn out. but I'm all sorted out now and I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Squish helped me turn this mess into something approximating a chapter, grammar remains hard af.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter and I WILL see you Monday.

Every Gem is made for a purpose, and a position within the well-oiled machine that is the Gem Empire. At the top are the diamonds, leaders, varied in form and arranged by seniority, though... the actuality of that has been tried in recent years. From there, were rare high-ranking gems, all the way down to pearls.

 

Sodalites were of that upper class, set aside for Blue Diamond’s direct court. They were specialists, dealing in furthering the Empire’s interests on planets that are... less than cooperative.

 

Domina had actually never met a sodalite, so of course she had never heard of this particular one. She did know that the gem must be some kind of big deal if Lapis and Blue Pearl were on edge.

 

Sodalite talked a lot. Which was an advantage for Domina, as she did not know how well she could actually imitate a Goshenite. She’d only ever met a few and that had been purely for planning purposes.

 

“The habitat monitoring systems are through here. I would invite you in, but the gems manning the systems are... well you have to understand they’re from Earth,” Sodalite said, giving Lapis a friendly nudge. Lapis’ returned smile looked more like a grimace.

 

“Ah... yes.” Lapis said. From Sodalite, Domina recognized the disapproving tone Homeworld gems used to talk about those made on the outer colonies. Though, there was a deeper cut to her words. One that hinted at scorn for a  _ failed _ colony.

 

“Anyway, it’s no true loss, the viewing deck is far superior space to view the-”

 

“Holly!” A burgundy amethyst with a chipped tooth burst into the corridor. “The humans-” She suddenly noticed that the gem on the other side of the door was NOT Holly Blue Agate, and that Sodalite was not alone. “Oh! S-S-Sodalite!” The amethyst snapped a nervous salute. “I... I’m so sorry.”

 

“Is there an issue, Quartz?” Sodalite said, condensation dripped off of her voice.

 

“I uh....” The chipped tooth amethyst glanced back at the closed door of the monitoring room, still holding her salute. “There's some... uh...” She glanced back at the group, and for a split second focused in on White Pearl, as Sodalite turned to look at Lapis and Domina.

 

“See what I mean?” She said sardonically.

 

“There's a... thing... going on in one of the human habitats, I just thought I’d get Holly to er... Holly Blue Agate and-” The Amethyst stammered out. Sodalite sighed.

 

“Excuse me for a moment.” Sodalite said before stepping into the door her Pearl had opened for her. The amethyst, after another glance at White Pearl, who gave her an awkward smile, followed her into the room, leaving the group in the hall.

 

“Well they know we’re here,” Lapis said, turning to the rest of the group.

 

“Yes, so, who exactly is this Sodalite?” Domina asked, turning to Lapis and Blue Pearl. Blue Pearl gave her an incredulous look and Lapis sighed.

 

“How much do you know about how the diplomatic side of things works.”

 

“Not much.” Domina admitted.

 

“She’s responsible for dealing with... insurgents on planets that are already inhabited.”

 

“Uh...” White Pearl said, her eyes glanced behind Lapis and Domina to the door Sodalite had gone through. Domina glanced back, Sodalite hadn’t returned yet, there was no one there, just the gem’s blue pearl. Domina turned back to Lapis

 

“So did she work on earth?” Domina asked.

 

“Yeah,” Lapis said, gripping the sides of her skirt. “She’s the reason I was there.”

 

“Lapis, Goshenite...” Blue Pearl said warningly, she gestured with her head behind them again. Domina frowned and glanced back again, nothing but the blue pearl.

 

“Well then, I won’t feel too bad about poofing her.”

 

“Are you two kidding me?!” White Pearl finally snapped. Domina looked at her, exasperated.

 

“What?! It’s just us! There’s no ones else here except the...” Domina froze and for once actually paid attention to the horrified dark blue pearl. “Shards, I’m a clodding idiot.”

 

“Oh... whoops,” Lapis said awkwardly.

 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t. Er... wait,” Domina sighed and rubbed the inset of her gem. Blue Pearl immediately moved into damage control mode, turning to the pearl.

 

“Can we ask for your discretion in th-”

 

“Right then,” Sodalite said stepping back into the corridor. “Honestly, the way some of these gem’s carry on you’d think these humans were actually a threat.” The group snapped back into focus. “Shall we continue?”

 

“Yes, yes of course.” Lapis said. Domina watched Blue and White try to keep composure, while the dark blue pearl glanced warily between the group and Sodalite.

 

“Excellent, so, through here is-”

 

“Your Transparency,” an agate's voice called. Sodalite stopped and gave Lapis and Domina a chagrined smile.

 

“What is it, Agate?”

 

“Aquamarine’s ship has just do-” Holly Blue Agate froze when she laid eyes on the group. Specifically on White Pearl who looked like she was debating if this day could get any worse.

 

“There must be something wrong with  _ all _ the quartzes that have been stationed here.” Sodalite said, “Tell me Holly dear, are you sure you’re not from Earth?” The embarrassment was as clear as glass on Holly Blue’s face and Domina could see the gem go tense. Agate’s did  _ not _ like being reminded there was little difference between them and their charges.

 

“Yes, Your Transparency.” Holly Blue said, “My apologies, Aquamarine’s ship just docked in bay one.”

 

“Yes, yes I figured that out. That will be all.” Sodalite said waving off the agate. Holly Blue Agate hesitated for a moment, glancing at White Pearl again, then snapped a salute and walked off.

 

****

 

Yellow Diamond had never been through the side corridors of the zoo. The Diamond corridor connected directly to Pink Diamond’s personal chambers, and her disdain for organics kept her from ever taking an interest in the rest of the zoo. She remembered when Pink had been designing the zoo initially. The younger diamond had nagged her constantly for help. Or rather, she had nagged White constantly and then subsequently was redirected to Yellow.

 

But the layout of the station was relatively standard, with a few exceptions, there was just one thing wrong.

 

“Where is everyone?” 9ZQ asked as the four of them quickly moved towards the Quartz barracks.

 

“Probably doing their jobs,” Yellow Diamond muttered.

 

“Dunno... it wasn’t this empty the last time,” Amethyst said peeking into alcoves as they passed them. “So like. You and 9NY?” she asked. Yellow Diamond glanced back at them where 9ZQ had nearly tripped over her own feet.

 

“Are you joking, Amethyst?” Yellow Diamond hissed. “How is this the time to be talking about-” She glanced briefly ahead at Garnet, “That.”

 

“Coast is clear enough,” Amethyst said rolling her eyes and looking over at 9ZQ.

 

“So?” She asked again. 9ZQ was very pointedly not making eye contact with either of them.

 

“I uh... well there’s...” 9ZQ opened and closed her mouth a few times then glanced warily at Yellow Diamond before shrugging. “There’s not much to say.”

 

“Aww come on, don’t be shy, Zee.” Amethyst said with a smirk. The milky quartz gave her a playful shove. “Seriously though, you two are frikken dorks together,” Yellow Diamond couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing.

 

“Amethyst,” Yellow Diamond snapped, “She has a reputation to uphold. Milky Quartzes are elite soldiers, part of White Diamond’s personal guard. She can’t just throw that away over a peridot.”

 

“Wow, rude, you’re still hung up on fusion and love and stuff?” Amethyst said, frowning. “Like Dom would even give a sh-”

 

“That’s none of your business. I-”

 

“Hold up.” Garnet interrupted their bickering and directed them into an alcove. From her cramped position between Garnet and 9ZQ, Yellow Diamond could hear footsteps. They sounded like the belonged to a quartz of some sort. Just more... compact.

 

They were here to deal with the guards, they might as well get started. Yellow Diamond shot a bolt of lightning at head height across the corridor.

 

“Wait!” Garnet shouted, a moment too late.

 

“Shards!” A carnelian’s voice cried out, there was a thud and Amethyst dashed out. Garnet shot Yellow Diamond a frown as she moved to follow Amethyst. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes and stepped out to see Amethyst being hugged by a diminutive carnelian.

 

Of course, the results of that mid-war rush job were still here.

 

“What? More pint-sized quartzes?” 9ZQ said with a grin. The Carnelian grinned with an arm still around Amethyst.

 

“Are you kidding, they can get more of us in a cubby that way.” She said, “So what the frack was that that shot at-” Carnelian finally laid eyes on Yellow Diamond and her mouth dropped open.

 

“Yeah, don’t worry about her.” Amethyst said. “She’s cool. So what’s going on? Where is everyone?”

 

“They uh... “ Carnelian shook her head and looked at Amethyst. “Most of them are keeping an eye on the enclosure, there's something weird going on down there, is that you guys?”

 

“Yeah probably.”

 

“Good, keepin’ an eye on them is just about the only thing we’re allowed to do these days. Anyway, I know Sodalite’s running Holly ragged, but I ain’t got no clue where those chrysoprases are. Somewhere in the upper levels?”

 

****

 

The last time Pink Pearl had been to the Human Zoo had been when White Diamond had visited in order to sate her curiosity about Pink Diamond’s interest in humans. It had been centuries before that when she had actually ventured into the work areas of the Zoo. Everything was still the same, and it was... surprisingly empty as the five of them wound their way to the lower levels of the station’s central hub.

 

“This isn’t good.” Mossy Agate said with a frown as she waved them past another empty corridor.

 

“It isn’t.” 5XG said, “The systems look positively archaic.”

 

“That's not what I-” Mossy began, only to be interrupted by 9NY.

 

“Well what can you expect, this station was built in Era 1. I doubt much has been upgraded.” 9NY said. Yellow rolled her eyes.

 

“Is this really important?” She asked.

 

“Of course it is!” 5XG said. Mossy shook her head and rolled her eyes. The antics were almost enough to pull Pink out of her melancholy thoughts. Pink Diamond was always in the back of her mind and her feelings about that time in her life were... complicated, but being amongst the legacy of her first diamond drew them closer to the surface.

 

“It is! Primary communication systems have been through fifteen iterations in the last five decades alone. Nevermind any personal changes any of the kunzites have ma-”

 

“Quiet.” Mossy ordered. 9NY’s mouth instantly snapped shut and the group came to a screeching halt. There were footsteps quickly coming their way and they were totally exposed. The corridor was empty of alcoves of even a doorway to duck into. Pink drew the blaster from her gem and she could see Mossy pulling hers from the holster under her cape. Yellow had already summoned her shield, though Pink could see that she was trembling in fear. 9NY was focused elsewhere though. There was a panel set into the wall, used for ventilation, and 5XG was doing... something to it, with her hands outstretched.

 

“What are you-?” Peridot 9NY began before the panel moved slightly, and four metal bolts fell from the corners.

 

“Nyeheh, just as I thought.” Peridot 5XG stepped aside to reveal the hole in the wall. Mossy didn’t take a moment to consider this and immediately ordered everyone in. The last bolt was reapplied with the fine adjustments of  5XG’s new touch stumps seconds before the first boot came into view.

 

“I’m telling you that was Blue Diamond’s Pearl!” A chrysoprase’s voice said. There were two of them.

 

“I don’t doubt it. But what would she be doing here?” A second said. Yellow Pearl’s eyes had gone wide.

 

“Who knows. Then again, what are anyone of them doing? Sodalite knows that’s not an actual goshenite, right?” The first chrysoprase said, her voice already starting to fade as they walked past.

 

“You know she does, she’s just toying with them. Now come on, otherwise we’re going to be-” The second chrysoprase continued as the pair walked out of range. The group took a collective sigh of relief.

 

“Okay, so that definitely isn’t good.” 9NY said.

 

“Lapis could be in danger!” 5XG said, then after a moment of tense looks from the other four, she amended, “And the others.”

 

“They can handle themselves, we need to continue-” Mossy began.

 

“Against a platoon of quartzes?” Yellow Pearl snapped. “Are you cracked?”

 

“And just how do you think we’re going to be able to help?” Moss Agate said lowly. There was another burst of silence, only to be broken by a new voice.

 

“Oh hey guys!” Steven said. The group paused and turned to see both him and Connie, wearing the typical clothes of the zoomans, sitting behind them. “I thought we were supposed to go through the vents, did I get that wrong?”

 


	43. XLIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I do have to say I am enjoying this arc a lot more than I thought I would so I hope you enjoy this chapter. Squish beta'd and one of these days I'm going to remember what form of 'stars' to use in "What in stars' name?"
> 
> See you friday!

The operations room that the group currently sat above was in charge of monitoring the gem sections of the base but also outgoing communications. The kunzites were stationed at separate terminals, each in a different corner of the room. 

 

“There’s only four, this won’t take long,” Moss Agate said, ignoring a look from Pink that promised consequences if it look longer than expected. Yellow Pearl peered around the room again from her vantage point above the grate. There was no sign that the kunzites had noticed them or that they had noticed anything unusual at all. Then, one with a forehead gem stood up. 

 

“What in stars’ name?” She said. Another kunzite, this one positioned closest to the door,  nodded. 

 

“I see it. Tell the guards we may have a breach somewhere in the containment area.” She said. Her gem was on her left shoulder.

 

“Should I... do something about it?” The forehead kunzite asked.

 

“No it’s fine, probably.” Shoulder kunzite made a few gestures to bring up a communication client. There was the sound of banging from outside the room and a dent appeared in the wall, forcing a kunzite with an eye gem forward.

 

“What the-!”

 

“Fine?!” Forehead kunzite said.

 

“That’s impossible. Humans are mostly harmless. None of the ones in recent generations have even shown-” Another dent appeared in the wall, interrupting the shoulder kunzite’s rant. The fourth kunzite in the room, this one had her trapezoidal gem on the back of her hand, swiftly grabbed a blaster from a wall rack and moved towards the door.

 

“If you eliminate it, you’re filling out the paperwork!” Shoulder kunzite called after her. The door opened and the hand kunzite stepped out into the hallway. Yellow Pearl moved to the side so that 5XG could finish detaching the grate. The sound of four bolts hitting the floor below was covered by a shout from the hallway, the sound of a blaster firing, and the unmistakable sound of a gem hitting the floor.  

 

“Sorry!” Steven’s voice came from the hallway. Moss Agate rolled her eyes before dropping through the hatch. She was quickly followed by 9NY and 5XG, then Pink, and finally Yellow, who clumsily landed on her back. 

 

“What?! Who are you?” Shoulder kunzite asked, startled. Yellow got to her feet to see Connie and Steven standing in the doorway, Steven brandishing his shield, and Connie her sword. A kunzite’s gem floated behind them.

 

“That’s not important.” Pink said, she also held a blaster and looked more intimidating than any pearl had any right to. “Step away from your consoles. Now.” She ordered. Yellow Pearl watched as the kunzites slowly raised their hands in surrender and stepped away from the computers. Something else though pricked at her attention, she could feel something wrong in the station. Something was... rumbling.

 

***

 

Yellow Diamond had been in battles before. In the early days of the empire, when there had been few of them, she had commanded troops directly. Eventually White Diamond had decided that her talents were best suited elsewhere, and had taken her from the front lines of the empire to Homeworld, where she could coordinate and oversee from a distance.

 

But until the fight with Blue, Yellow Diamond hadn’t been in a real battle. She stood, waiting amongst Garnet, 9ZQ, Amethyst, the diminutive carnelian, and a skinny jasper. On the opposite side of the atrium, outside of a conference room, were six other Beta jaspers. Between them, a company of chrysoprases. To say they were vastly outnumbered was an understatement.

 

“You think you can clear some of em out, Yellow?” Amethyst asked quietly.

 

“At least half, if that’ll make enough of a difference,” She muttered.

 

“It will,” Garnet said. “On my signal.” They waited a few more moments, Yellow already crackling with electricity. She tried to focus herself on the task at hand, strategically speaking, she should shape her lightning to take out the gems on the outside of the group. But Yellow Diamond really never used her lightning with that level of precision, on this big of a group.

 

Her focus was interrupted by something landing on her hair. Yellow frowned and touched it, liquid, and it was followed by another drop. She could see the skinny jasper also wiping the top of her head.

 

“Is this... water?” She asked.

***

The loyalty of pearls to their owners was supposed to be absolute. Though Blue Pearl knew from experience that, like many of the seeming ‘facts’ of gem society, pearl loyalty was as varied  as any other gems. Blue Pearl was really hoping that the loyalty of Sodalite’s pearl was going to fall on their side. 

 

“Pearl, direct Aquamarine to the conference room on the upper levels. Tell her I’ll be with her shortly.” Sodalite said. Her pearl hesitated and her eyes flickered towards the group trying to give her a pleading look, and then back at her owner.

 

“My Sodalite, I-” The pearl began.

 

“Pearl, I did not ask for any additional words on the matter, see to your task.” Sodalite said, already turning to continue down the corridor. After a moment of hesitation, Lapis and Domina followed after.

 

“Please.” Blue Pearl mouthed silently to Sodalite’s pearl before she too followed the group, falling into step easily next to an uncomfortable White. She had to admit, after six months on Earth, being treated like a pearl again was... unnerving. She imagined it was much worse from White’s perspective. Though it shouldn’t be much longer, hopefully both of the other groups had either completed their tasks or were nearly done. Then, they could dissipate this piece of coprolite and get out of here.

 

“Actually Lazuli, you may have a perspective on what I’m trying to do.” Sodalite said.

 

“Oh?” Lapis said, her voice and manner had been slipping over the course of the day. Lapis’ fists were balled at her sides, not angry, not yet anyway, just tense. Though that didn’t stop Blue Pearl from wondering how much water was on this station.

 

“Yes, the last time Aquamarine was on Earth she did have a bit of mixed success but you were there for longer,” Sodalite said, they had pulled away from the main zoo and headed towards the upper levels of the gem area of the station. Blue Pearl glanced at White, who was very obviously trying not to panic. As if this plan didn’t already have enough players in it, now the Aquamarine who had brought Steven to Homeworld was here. Domina glanced back at the two of them with a raised eyebrow and Blue Pearl surreptitiously tapped her gem. They needed to be ready.

 

“Really, Sodalite, this better have been worth the trip.” Aquamarine said the moment the group entered the conference room. She was sitting in a chair, leaning back precariously. A pair of topazes flanked her.

 

“Oh you’re so impatient,” Sodalite said, as the rest of the group filed in. Blue Pearl locked eyes with White, both of their hands were casually moving closer to their gems.

 

“Well, what do you expect?” Aquamarine said, launching into the air. “These are diamonds we’re dealing with.” Blue Pearl froze and saw Domina practically choke on her breath.

 

“Wait, what?” Domina asked, only just managing to remain calm. Sodalite sighed dramatically.

 

“Really, White Diamond, do you think so lowly of us  _ lesser gems _ that you honestly expected to be able to pass as a Goshenite?” She asked.

 

“Alright that’s enough.” White said drawing her spear.

 

“Oh that’s a fun trick, you must be the oh... What is it?” Sodalite looked nonplussed  “Ah yes, the Renegade Pearl.”

 

“One of Rose Quartze’s lackeys.” The Aquamarine said with a smirk. “I heard she made it off Homeworld. Where is she in this little entourage? It sure would be something to bring her to My Diamond again, even if the value of her gem has taken a hit.”

 

“Again?” Lapis said. Blue had drawn her axe but now she doubted she was going to need it. “You’re the one that took Steven to Homeworld? To the Diamonds?”

 

“Ugh, Steven, Rose Quartz, you Earth gems are so particular about the names of things.” Aquamarine rolled her eyes. “Yes, that was m-” In less than half a second water burst through one wall, formed a fist and drove Aquamarine between the two topazes, and through the opposite wall. 

 

“Well,” Sodalite said, gesturing for her pearl to open the door to the atrium. “I suppose you’re not interested in helping then.”

 


	44. XLIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter was so so much fun to write. though not a lot of fun to edit. Me and squish added 30 comma's to this thing! thats ridiculous! any way. it was worth it! I hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> I'll see you monday!

“You said this stuff is called duct tape?” Peridot 9NY said inspecting the roll that Connie had set aside after binding the remaining kunzites.

 

“Yes, it was essential in repairing the Diamond flagship last year.” 5XG said. Pink Pearl rolled her eyes and turned to look through the security camera streams for various parts of the base.

 

“Rubber-based adhesive with a woven plant fiber-based backing?” 9NY continued as Pink began flipping through the screens. Much of the base was empty, there was some sort of commotion going on in the habitat monitoring room between the agate and her quartzes.

 

“It has proved useful in numerous applications as a temporary adhesive.” 5XG said. Pink flipped through a few more screens then stopped on a view of the atrium of the upper levels.

 

“Mossy!” She called frantically, unable to tear her eyes away from the chaos that was going on.

 

“Oh my stars!” Yellow said from beside her.

 

“What is it?” Mossy called from the door to the communications booth. “Did someone bother to disable the outgoing transmit- oh,” She said, finally focusing on the scene taking place on the screens. Garnet was in the center, brawling with a chrysoprase a head taller than she was. Meanwhile, Amethyst and Yellow Diamond waged their own battles. Jaspers and a carnelian were interspersed, fighting off a pair of Topazes. And above it all, Lapis swung a watery fist at an aquamarine.

 

“We need to get down there, now.” Mossy said, already backing away from the console. “Steven, Connie, unless you can take on a fully grown quartz I’m going to suggest that you two stay here.”  The two looked at each other and nodded. One short spin later, Stevonnie stood before them, two earrings on each ear and holding Connie's sword.

 

“I’m ready, we can take ‘em.” They said determinedly. 

  
  


****

Yellow Diamond had been in battles before, though usually they weren’t this unevenly matched. She was tired. Domina had been right all those weeks ago, summoning a weapon did take less energy than the barrage of energy she had sent out at the beginning of all of this. The initial shock of her appearance had worn off quickly as the chrysoprasus charged their now revealed hiding spot. Garnet and Amethyst had immediately jumped to action, quickly followed by ‘Skinny’ with her pike and Carnelian with her club. 

The first chrysoprase charged at her with a hammer and was quickly dispatched with a well placed blow to the neck with her staff. She had it down to a rhythm now. A few whacks, driving back the encroaching quartzes with an occasional bolt of lightning.

 

“Yellow D! Batter up!” Amethyst shouted. Yellow Diamond jerked around just in time to bat away a chrysoprase that Amethyst had thrown towards her with her whip. Of all the nonsense Amethyst had spouted over the months that phrase had to be the worst.

 

“What are you doing!?” Yellow shouted at the quartz.

 

“Aw come on, lighten up!” Amethyst called, her whip wound around the nearest chrysoprase and she yanked the weapon taut, causing the gem to dissipate.  “We haven’t had this kind of action in forever!” Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes and slammed her staff into the ground, using it as a conductor to dissipate a group of oncoming chrysoprasus. She saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of her eye and turned. Lapis Lazuli, presumably, had put a hole in the wall when she had sent the aquamarine shooting out of the conference room. Following the dueling pair of blue gems was a pair of topazes. Her topazes. Yellow Diamond took a gamble. 

 

“Topazes!” She called with a voice she hadn’t used in milinnia. A commanding voice that pierced through the chaos of the battlefield. Both topazes froze, they were back to back, each holding their pugil sticks in a defensive posture against two jaspers. “I suggest you pick the correct side!” Yellow said, zapping another section of chrysoprase for emphasis. 

 

****

Domina was fast. On a good day she could outrun a rutile at top speed, and when she wanted something nothing got in her way. Sodalite took off the moment the doors opened, leaving her pearl and the battle behind as a platoon of chrysoprasus flooded the room.

 

“No!” She shouted launching into the air, leaving Blue and White Pearl behind, something she realized in hindsight might not have been the best idea. But she needed answers. 

 

Domina lost Sodalite in the fray outside. She was nearly shocked by Yellow Diamond’s lightning and then promptly doused as Lapis pulled more water to her own battle. But amongst it all, Domina focused in on a flicker of movement, a dark blue figure running for one of the hallways to the rest of the station.

 

She didn’t even hesitate. Domina launched herself forward, rolling when she hit the ground, and coming into her feet already prepared to break into a room. The hallway was empty though, and dead ended just ahead. Sodalite couldn’t have gotten far. A blast of air dispatched one door. The room on the other side was empty. Domina moved to the next one, frantic. How did Sodalite see through them? Another room, empty. What was she doing, hunting for herself and Yellow? Why Sodalite, why not an army?  A third door exploded, another room empty. How did Sodalite know who she was?! The fourth door exploded. Not from her though. The shrapnel burst out and a searing burn from laser fire shot through Domina’s shoulder. 

 

“Not one step forward, White Diamond.” Sodalite said, positioning herself so that her back was towards the atrium and Domina’s towards the dead end. Sodalite’s blaster was aimed directly at Domina’s gem. 

 

She didn’t know what would happen if the white diamond was shattered. But she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be pleasant.

 

****

The chaos in the atrium was worse in person. And in actuality, Yellow Pearl thought they might have only added to it. Immediately upon arriving, they split into different directions. Pink raced to the inside of the conference room to find Domina. 5XG’s limb enhancers detached to reattach to her feet and she propelled herself into the air. Mossy Agate immediately turned and ran down the corridor in the direction of the habitat monitoring booth. 9NY darted through the crowd, blaster drawn. And Stevonnie charged at full tilt, weapon drawn, shield in front of them, bellowing a war cry worthy of any quartz.

 

Yellow Pearl though, was rooted to the spot. She had never been in a battle. Blue had more experience than her in this. What should she do? To go to her diamond would more than likely endanger both of them. She saw a spot of blue to her left, just outside the now open door to the conference room. A blue pearl, but not  _ her _ blue pearl, Sodalite’s pearl. Yellow Pearl summoned her shield, ducking volleys of weapons and blaster fire, and made her way over to the alcove the other pearl had tucked herself into.

 

“Are you alright?” Yellow Pearl asked, setting her shield down as cover. The pearl looked up at her, startled.

 

“What?! Who are you?” She sputtered. 

 

“I... well, I’m Yellow Diamond’s Pearl. Are you ok?”

 

“I’m fine. What in stars’ name is going on?” She asked. Yellow Pearl sighed.

 

“It’s a long story.”

 

****

Six months after Blue Pearl had poofed her diamond, she was much better with her axe. That didn’t make fighting through a platoon of quartzes any easier. She pivoted and bashed. She moved out of the way from White’s spear and saw the look of surprise on a chrysoprase’s face as she slashed her axe through the gems physical form. Finally, her and White made it out the hole Lapis had blasted in the wall. White kept the quartzes off their backs while Blue Pearl looked out over the battlefield. There was an irritated cry from above. Blue Pearl looked up to see Lapis frozen in stasis, the water still held by her powers but the column she had created was beginning to lose it’s cohesion. Lapis herself was hurling obscenities at Aquamarine from her stationary position.

 

“Oh shut up!” Aquamarine shouted back. “I refuse to be beaten by an obsolete, traitorous, piece of schist, that’s late to the era!” 

 

“Let me go and I’ll show you ‘late to the era’, you brat!” Lapis raged. Aquamarine swung her stasis wand to slam Lapis into the wall. All the water in the air suddenly dropped, flooding the room seconds before a chunk of metal shot through the air, slamming into Aquamarine’s form.

 

“You let her go, you CLOD!” Peridot shouted. Aquamarine’s grip on the wand slipped and it sailed to the ground, only to be grabbed by a pair of newly reformed watery hands. The wand snapped in their grasp and Lapis was suddenly floating next to Peridot. A dark look on her face. 

 

“Blue! Move!” White ordered, yanking the gem out of the way as a platoon of amethysts stormed the atrium, engaging the chrysoprasus with a variety of weaponry. Moss Agate followed with a bewildered Holly Blue staggering behind.

 

“About time!” Came a shout from a carnelian. “Here I thought we’d have to have all this fun on our own!”

****

“It doesn’t have to be like this.” Domina said, slowly moving her hands towards her gem.

 

“Keep your hands where they are.” Sodalite ordered. “I swear you’re even less impressive in person.” She said.

 

“Sorry to disappoint.” Domina said. “So if you were coming for me and Yellow Diamond, what were you doing here?” She had to keep Sodalite talking. If she talked for long enough, Domina might be able to figure a way out of this. Maybe even get some information about what was going on. 

 

“The Zoo is the closest gem structure the empire has to that failure of a colony. Really White Diamond, you should know that.”

 

“And so what?” Domina asked. “Blue sent you? Why do that when she could have just sent the chrysoprasus. Or stars even just the aquamarine.” Water had filled the corridor, up to Domina’s knees. That wasn’t a good sign.

 

“Really? Just a platoon of quartzes against two diamonds? How dumb do you think my diamond is? No, this project needed a softer touch.” Sodalite smirked at the water at their feet. “Ah, seems that Lazuli has lost her nerve. Pity, then again Lapis’ are so flighty. Maybe she has decided dealing with the ‘Crystal Gems’ and the remnants of defunct courts wasn’t worth being stuck in another mirror for another five thousand years.” 

 

“No. Lapis would never.” Domina said, and as if in answer, the water began to recede. She blew out a sigh of relief. “How do you know who I am?” She asked. “Did you know we were coming?”

 

“No, though the way those pitiful excuses for gems had been acting, I knew something must be going on.” Sodalite glanced behind her and fired off another warning shot when Domina made a lunge for her sword. This blast grazed the side of her face. And Domina cried out in pain. She had been shot before by accident, but this, somehow, was much worse.

 

“My Diamond did me the privilege of showing me your picture when I assured her I would take on this assignment. Well, a handful of other members of her court, and I.” Sodalite gave Domina a pitying smile. “Considering what you look like now, I don’t blame the rest of the authority for keeping you out of the spotlight.”

 

Domina glared and felt her jaw tense. There was one more thing she could try. Though, she didn’t want to.

 

“I look better than you.” Domina said and then pushed the burning sensation through her gem. Time stopped, and she realized they weren’t alone. In amongst Sodalite’s memories, she could see other ones, more familiar ones. Pearl was here too, running towards them with Mossy just steps behind. Mossy’s memories though... It wasn’t that they weren’t there but that they were like stone. Unchangeable. She couldn’t touch them.

 

This shocked her out of the mindscape and her gem returned to normal. From behind Sodalite’s sneering face she saw a gem briefly glow pink before a dagger buried itself in Sodalite’s back and Pearl tackled her. Sodalite’s form poofed mid-anguished cry and Pearl stood, holding an incredibly ornate pale pink dagger with sparkling philligre adorning it.

 

“Domina!” She cried, immediately rushing over. “Are you ok? What were you thinking!?”

 

“I uh... Huh.” Domina said, temporarily distracted from the approaching pain, by Pearl’s weapon. “Looks like you finally figured it out.”

  
  



	45. XLV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone! shorter chapter this week as we start to wrap up the zoo arc and turn our attention to the new rebellion base. though we've still got two or three chapters left here. This chapter is not beta'd because I took a nap at 2:00 in the afternoon in celebration of having some time off. On that note, if you wanted to suggest prompts for small (~1000 words) scenes with the characters I would be all for that.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter! I'll see you friday!

“I’m fine Pearl.” Domina said for the fourth time as they entered the atrium proper. The chrysoprasus had been dealt with and were slowly being sent to float in the ceiling of the atrium. 

 

“Domina you are not fine.” Pearl insisted for the fifth time. A general kind of after battle peace had settled, Amethyst was talking with a large group of Amethysts who must have been the famethyst. Stevonnie was around still and was talking to a fascinated Peridot 9NY and a shy looking pair of topazes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sodalites pearl sitting next to Yellow Pearl, hopefully her frack up wouldn’t end up being too disastrous.

 

“What happened to you?” Yellow Diamond asked. She was standing closest to them as they re-entered the atrium, watching Lapis and Peridot 5XG repair the broken water pipe. Domina sighed.

 

“I followed Sodalite and got a little hurt.” Domina said, even though she could still feel the burn across the side of her face, she was pretty sure the bolt had cut a divot into her hair too.

 

“A little?” Yellow Said skeptically.

 

“I got shot.” Domina said with a one armed shrug. “I’m alright.” In an instant Yellow’s eyes had practically doubled in size.

 

“She shot you!?” 

 

“Only one actual shot I’m fine Yellow.” Domina said with a sigh, giving Pearl a rueful grin. The regrets for today seemed to mounting faster and faster. “The other was just a graze.” Domina turned the side of her face to show Yellow.

 

“Where’s her gem? I’ll shatter her myself.” Yellow snapped. Domina frowned.

 

I have it.” she used her good arm to open her jacket to reveal sodalites gem. “ and no you won’t, I haven’t had to shatter a gem in two thousand years. And I’m not starting back up now.”

 

“Well it’s been 6 months for me. Hand her over.” Yellow said her volume starting to rise. Domina kept her’s level.

 

“Absolutely not.”

 

“Domina, She shot you, you could have died!”

 

“But I didn’t.”

 

“That doesn’t matter she assaulted a diamond” Yellow snapped. Domina could hear gasps in the background. Perfect, more people who knew who she was without her introducing herself first. “She deserves to be shattered!”

 

“So are we shattering Blue too then?” Domina said finally raising  her voice in response. Yellow recoiled from her, looking horrified for a brief moment, then perhaps even angrier than she had been before. 

 

“That’s completely different!” Yellow Diamond shouted. 

 

“You’re right,” Domina said, her voice went cold. “It’s worse. Blue could have killed both of us.” Yellow didn’t have anything to say in response to that, she stared back at Domina, angry yes but there was a part of her that was afraid. Domina could feel tension in the rest of the room build as the two diamonds fought, even Pearl had taken a step back from them. The group that had been on earth with them had to be used to Domina and Yellow’s minor arguments at this point, and even the louder ones. But normally the diamonds made a point of not arguing infront of ‘lesser’ gems. They had to present a united front. They had to look like they were above the petty arguments. Like they were unlike any other gem. Domina couldn’t let that stand anymore.

 

She took Sodalites gem from her pocket and bubbled it then sent it to the ceiling with the others with a brief puff of air. She looked at Yellow directly in the eye.

 

“We are not shattering anyone.” She said firmly.

 

****

Pink Pearl watched Stevonnie heal Domina and then saw them both disappear into the hallway towards where they had left the Kunzites. What she wouldn’t give to be a Pearl in  _ that _ corner, it was bound to be an... interesting conversation.

 

“So the pebble really doesn’t mind fusion?” Milky Quartz 9ZQ asked. Pink jumped, she hadn’t heard the quartz come up behind her. Peridot 9NY wasn’t far behind them, talking with a thoroughly soaked Peridot and Lapis but pretty obviously still paying attention to them.

 

“It doesn’t seem like it.” Pearl said. “She’s fused with Steven, and speaks highly of Garnet.” 

 

“Hm.” 9ZQ said simply. 

 

“Don’t get any ideas.” Mossy said. 9ZQ just smiled and walked over to the peridots and Lapis.

“Moss Agate.” Holly Blue Agate said nervously. Pink and Mossy both turned.

 

“Ah, Yes, Holly Blue,” Mossy said with a simple nod to the other Agate. “Your gems did an excellent job. I’m sure Dom- er White Diamond that is, will want to meet them whenever she gets back.” Mossy glanced at Pink as if she would know when Domina was coming back.

 

“I uh.... Oh my star’s.” Holly Blue Agate looked as if she might dissipate her form. “I understand, so that, that truly is White Diamond then?”

 

“That is.” Pink said. “She’s half human. I’m assuming that someone’s filled you in on Steven’s... existence?” Holly Blue glanced from Pink to Mossy with a confused and slightly annoyed look on her face. Mossy just looked at Holly Blue expectantly.

 

“Well Holly,” Mossy said. “She asked you a question.”

 

“No,” Holly Blue said hesitantly, still looking between the two of them. “I heard the Amethysts and beta’s talking about... something involving the organic quartz but I had no idea that Her Brilliance was also in the same... condition.” Pink Pearl frowned.

 

“She is. And as capable as her mother was before her.” Pink said, though even more so in some ways. 

 

“I... see,” Holly Blue said awkwardly. Mossy smirked. 

 

“I would recommend asking the Crystal Gem’s Amethyst for the details.”  She said.

 

“Yes, yes of course.” Holly Blue said snapping a salute and walking off, back into the group of Quartzes.

 

“I almost feel bad for her.” Pink said. “Amethyst is probably the worst gem for that job.”

 

“Could have been worse.” Mossy said. “I could have told her to ask the renegade.”

 

Twenty minutes later Domina returned with Steven and Connie along with four nervous looking Kunzites. She seemed to be in a better mood but was deliberately avoiding eye contact with Yellow Diamond.

 

“So!” She said eagerly. “Lets unbubble some Rose Quartzes!” 

  
  
  



	46. XLVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys it's fracking early as heck for me but I'm getting ready to take a three hour car ride and wanted to make sure that you had the chapter for the day. It is unbeta'd unfortunately but feel free to yell about that in the comments if you wish :). I'm working on atleast one minific during my time off and am still taking suggestions so send them my way if you have any!
> 
> Enjoy the chapter, see you monday!

 

Blue had a little experience with recruiting. Usually the pearls that would eventually become part of the New Rebellion found her first, with a few exceptions. She had caught Jet smuggling texts that were supposed to be destroyed out of her owners spire. Red had slipped away during one of her Pyropes meetings and Blue had discovered her rebuilding an ancient transmitter to pick up a music performance three sectors away. And of course, she had asked for Pink specifically.

 

“What happens to me now?” Sodalite’s Pearl asked. Even post fight she was still tense and looked past Blue and Yellow at the rest of the group who was milling about.

 

“Well you come with us.” Yellow Pearl said like it was the most obvious thing in existence.

 

“Yellow!” Blue said, they couldn’t just take along random pearls. Well they could but it probably wasn’t a great idea. She had already tried to alert Sodalite to their plans.

 

“What? We can’t just leave her here.” Yellow said. Sodalite’s Pearl glanced between them and Blue saw a flicker of... something on her face. Hope? Or maybe it was just a front. She knew from experience that pearls were skilled at hiding their true emotions.

 

But, Yellow was right. Just leaving her here would put them at just as much, if not more risk of her betraying them as taking her with them would. Sodalite’s Pearl’s eyes had focused somewhere else, up, to where her owners gem now hung in a pale white bubble. And blue saw another emotion, determination, on the, now free, pearls face.

 

“If you want to.”   Blue Pearl said. “I can’t promise it will be safe but we can find a place for you in the New Rebellion.”

 

“Why give me a choice?” Sodalite’s pearl asked finally, her eyes not leaving her Sodalite’s gem, hovering next to Aquamarine’s. “I’m just a pearl.”

 

“So am I.” Blue Pearl said. “And because everyone deserves a choice. That’s what we’re fighting for.”

 

****

 

Pink Diamond’s personal chamber was... strange. Domina really only had her mothers and Yellow’s as a comparison but both of theirs were utilitarian. There certainly wasn’t a giant bed in the middle of their rooms.

 

“She slept?” Domina asked turning to Pearl. Pearl nodded wordlessly. Domina had told her she didn’t have to come but she had insisted. Domina knew that Pearl never liked to talk about Pink Diamond, so she couldn’t understand why she had insisted on coming. She was probably as uncomfortable with this room as Domina was with the entire zoo in general.

 

“Are those all Rose Quartzes?” Connie asked. Domina followed her gaze to the ceiling where hundreds of pink gems floated gently.

 

“Yes.” Yellow Diamond said, speaking for the first time sense her and Domina’s argument. “The entire production and their two agates.”

 

“Mom had an agate...” Steven said softly. He stared at the bubbles too, with a little more trepidation than he had had earlier.

 

“Most quartzes do.” Pearl said.

 

“Are they all like Holly Blue or like Mossy?” Steven asked.

 

“Most are somewhere in between.” Pearl said, she tore her eyes away from the balcony above Pink Diamonds bed and instead looking above at the gems.

 

“We should unbubble the agates first, that’ll save time of having to explain the situation.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“I’ll get them.” Domina said hopping up into the air. The pink agates weren’t terribly hard to find, they floated at the top in the same pink bubbles. Their gems were rounded square and banded horizontally. She took the bubbled gently and floated down to the floor. With a a brief squeeze of both hands, the bubbles popped and the gems began to float into the air as their physical forms began to expand. Steven clung to Connie's hand as the shape of the pink agates solidified and they landed on the ground both staggering slightly. They were mirror images of each other, wearing a typical quartz uniform with a soft pink capelet over their shoulders. Only their gem placement was different, one had a nose gem and the other was on her chest. Upon landing they looked at each other, afraid then relieved they both gave a slight chuckle, then they noticed the watching group. Nose gem saw Yellow Diamond immediately and snapped a salute. While chest gem saw Connie and Steven.

 

“Oh dear...” She said. “How did you two get out?”

 

“Oh.” Connie said. “We’re not-”

 

“T,” Nose gem hissed elbowing the chest gem without dropping her salute. Chest gem, T, looks up at Yellow and quickly also saluted.

 

“Your Luminousness.” T said quickly. “If I may ask, why is it that we’ve been removed from stasis?” Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes.

 

“Well it wasn’t my idea,” She said looking at Domina. Both agates turned to look at her. Domina smiled hesitantly.

 

“Hello, I’m Domina.” She said, she couldn’t hide who she was here. It was too important that they knew the whole truth of the matter. “ I am a hybrid of a human that was taken from this zoo and... White Diamond.” The agate’s eyes went wide and both looked at Yellow to confirm her statement. Yellow Diamond nodded.

 

“But that's really not important.” Domina said quickly, then gestured to Steven. “This is Steven he’s like me. His mother is... was... a rose quartz.” Both agates now turned to look at Steven. One of them, the nose gem look towards his stomach.

 

“2AL?” Nose gem asked. Steven gulped.

 

“Uh... if that was mom’s cut number then yeah... I guess but I just go by Steven.” He said. Then he carefully pulled aside his Zooman clothes to reveal his gem.

 

“Amazing.” Nose gem crouched down to Steven’s level. “And who’s your...companion.” She asked smiling at Connie.

 

“Connie Maheswaran.” Connie said. “It’s nice to meet you ma’am.”

 

“So polite.” Nose Gem said. “I’m Pink Agate 5HV. That is 5HT.” She said gesturing at T who smiled and waved.

 

“So, Your Brilliance.” 5HT said turning to Domina who winced. “Why is it that we’ve been unbubbled, I assume it’s been some time?”

 

“It’s been five thousand years.” Pearl said. Both agates pause and looked at eachother, then at Domina and Yellow, then back at Pearl.

 

“And... Our Diamond? Where is she?” 5HV asked standing up.

 

“She was shattered.” Pearl said. Domina remembered the look on Pearls face when she had told her what White Diamond had done. Not quite betrayal, or horror, just disbelief at what was hidden behind the layer of static in her memories.

 

“What?” 5HT snapped. “That’s impossible.”

 

“It’s true.” Yellow Diamond said, she paused composing herself. “Negotiations in the final days of the war failed and she was caught in the crossfire. It was an accident.” Both agates were left speechless for a moment and turned to look at the bed behind them, then nodded soberly.

 

“What purpose do you have for us then?” 5HV said looking at Domina.

 

“We’d like you to go back to your jobs here at the zoo.” Domina said. “Really there’s been no reason for you to have spent all this time bubbled.”

 

“Who’s been keeping this place functional in the meantime?” 5HT asked

 

“A squad of kunzites and a group of quartzes from earth, lead by a Holly Blue Agate.” Pearl said. Both of the agates faces went pale.

 

“Oh shards,” 5HT said. 5HV elbowed her in the side “Er, I apologize, what I meant is we’re going to have a lot of work to do.”

 

“Well you might as well get started.” Yellow Diamond said drawing her staff. She glanced up at the bubbles then before Domina could tell her no spung the staff twice around her head and slammed it into the ground upright, sending arcs of electricity into the air. The bubbled all popped and as they fell the physical forms of the gems expanded and solidified, seconds before the rose quartzes hit the ground. Domina felt her heart rate began to slow and gave Yellow a stern look which the other diamond returned with a smirk. For any gem, falling from that height unprotected could have caused a fracture at the very least.

 

Immediately the Agates went to work.

 

“Form up!” 5HT shouted into the room. The Rose Quartzes looked around stunned but quickly began to get to their feet and move into position.

 

“Column A with me!” 5HV called. She glanced down at Steven and smiled as 20 quartzes nervously filed over. “I assume you’re not planning on sticking around but you might as well meet your squad.” She said. Steven’s eyes went wide as the rose quartzes clustered around him.

 

“Uh... hi.” He said nervously. Connie gripped his hand again.

 

“Woah uh... V should I put them back?” one of the rose quartzes, her gem on her left shoulder asked.”

 

“No. 2AK this is Steven, he is 2AL’s... offspring.” 5HV said. The quartzes froze and looked at their agate and then back at Steven who once again revealed his gem.

 

“Woah...” Another rose quartz, this one with a forehead gem, said, which opened the floodgate of comments.

 

“That shouldn’t even be possible!”

 

“L really did that?”

 

“Well she always was crazy about humans.”

 

“Crazy is right!”

 

“Hey, hey, Steven, right?” A rose quartz with her gem on the back of her hand said. “Can you summon a weapon? Is it her shield?”

 

“Yeah I can!” Steven said summoning his shield. There were gasps from the rose quartzes. Domina smiled as the Agates tried to restore order half heartedly as the quartzes all rushed to introduce themselves to this new quartz. To Steven.

 


	47. XLVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was an interesting chapter to right, I believe it is the one before the final chapter of the zoo arc (though knowing me that ones going to end up double length *sigh*) Here we're kind of seeing a glimpse of the future, and some things to come as we head into another arc! No beta this chapter so feel free to correct me in the comments if you like, or over on the discord or on tumblr, wherever you like. There should be a couple of oneshots coming out this week, along with the next chapter of Emergence. So I hope you like the chapter, and I will see you friday!

Pink Pearl stayed behind as the room emptied of quartzes, half quartzes and humans. Domina had left earlier with Pink Agate 5HV to bring her up to speed. This left her alone in Pink Diamonds room, with Yellow Diamond. They didn’t say anything. They rarely acknowledged each others presence under normal circumstances, and Pink Pearl hadn’t been in any hurry to change that while they had been on Earth. Maybe it was only fitting then that Yellow Diamond was the one that broke the silence.

 

“Do you miss her?” Yellow Diamond asked. The answer came to Pink Pearl immediately.

 

“No.” She said.

 

“I suppose that’s fitting, you’ve spent more time with Domina than with White Diamond and her combined.” Yellow Diamond said. They didn’t look at each other, they both were staring at the area where the Rose Quartzes had been bubbled moments before. The room felt so empty now, plenty of room for memories to drift in to fill the space.

 

“That’s not why,” Pearl said. She focused on the ledge above the bed and could almost feel the hours spent dancing, singing, generally doing anything to break the silence and monotony while her diamond attempted to bring her first colony back into order. Yellow Diamond stiffened but didn’t say anything. Pink Pearl glanced back at the matriarch, words left unsaid for thousands of years starting to bubble to the surface.

 

“She wasn’t ready.” she said.

 

“None of us ever were.” Yellow Diamond said firmly. “The only way to truly learn to lead is to be thrown into it.”

 

“That’s not true and you know it.” Pink Pearl said, “You didn’t do that with Domina.”

 

“Domina is different,” Yellow snapped.

 

“Not that different!” Pink said, there were so many things she had wanted to say for so long. “You didn’t hand Domina a colony and tell her to prove herself. You spent twelve stars cursed years teaching her how the empire worked. Then made her finish the backlog of White Diamond's plans before she even could consider starting her first one!” Pink said, Yellow Diamond opened her mouth to reply.

 

“Those aren’t the sam-”  But Pink Pearl cut her off.

 

“Yes they are. You never even implied to Pink that she would never be anything close to White. You never blocked her plans to try to change things while complaining of the workload that you pulled onto yourself!”

 

“How dare you I-”

 

“No.” Pink Pearl said. She had moved closer to Yellow Diamond who was much less intimidating when she only stood a little taller than the average quartz. “You have prodded and poked at both of them until they thought you hated them.” Pink said, the words pouring out of her like a faucet. Yellow Diamond backed up her anger slowly giving way to shock. “I have watched you put expectations on both of them for thousands of years. It’s what got Pink Diamond shattered,” Yellow Diamond flinched. “Thank the stars Domina’s broken from them.” Pink Pearl finished. 

 

They stared at each other for a long moment, before Pink Pearl tore her gaze away and focused on the bed in the center of the room. She could practically see Pink Diamond sitting there, she would have thought it was hilarious, a pearl arguing with a diamond. Pink Pearl wouldn’t have then though, she would have never stood up for Pink Diamond, how would things have changed if she had.

 

****

 

Domina had mixed views on agates. On one hand they were essential points of order within the empire, not just to keep quartzes under control.  They were a point of contact, a set of boots that could be closer to the action than any higher class gems could be. Unfortunately, this also meant that they had a tendency to lord it over the gems under them and that their actions could take a sharp bend towards cruel.

 

Enhydro Agate from the fleet was like that. Domina had raised her displeasure about her actions several times, but she know that all that had really done was forced Enhydro to be subtler about what she did to keep her quartzes in line. Mossy wasn’t quite the opposite of that but, Mossy wasn’t even technically an agate depending on who you asked.

 

Pink Agate 5HV seemed to be of the better sort. Domina could see it in how the Rose Quartzes had responded to her orders, the way that some walked off with a sly grin instead of a drilled salute. Domina had to appreciate that.

 

“Yo Dom, you need to meet the- uh hey.” Amethyst said when they walked in. Pink Agate glanced around the room and Domina saw her glancing nervously to the ceiling of the atrium where the bubbles now hung.

 

“Holly Blue, would you and,” Domina glanced at the kunzites who were huddled away from the group, “Kunzite 4RG, bring Pink Agate up to speed please?” She asked. The Kunzite nodded quickly, and Domina once again regretted her threats from earlier.

 

“Your brilliance are you sure that this...changing of the guard so to speak is a good idea, my quartzes and I have faithfully served the authority in the upkeep of this station since era 2 began.” Holly Blue said. Domina frowned and glanced at the group of quartzes behind her. They apparently hadn’t filled their agate in on the plan.

 

“I guess I’ll bring you up to speed about that later. Actually,” Domina glanced towards the back of the room where Mossy was talking to 9NY and 9ZQ about... something. “Moss Agate!” She called waving the Agate over.

 

“Moss Agate?” Pink Agate said with a slight grin. “They’ve kept your gem in service this long?”

 

“5HV,” Mossy said disapprovingly. “Hopefully this time around you can keep your charges in line.”  Pink Agates smile faded. Domina suppressed her laugh behind a hand.

 

“Mossy, could you go with them and let them know exactly what’s going on?” Domina said. Mossy frowned and gave her a significant look, that probably had something to do with the use of her nickname, something Domina really should stop doing around people they wanted to impress.

 

“Of course my diamond.” Mossy said stiffly, before leaving with the other two agates along with the kunzite. Domina then turned her attention to the Famethyst.

 

“So what’s she like when she’s not trying to polish my gem?” She asked casually. One of the amethysts, one with a cheek gem and pointy teeth snorted, the rest of the amethysts were tense. Shards this was going to be hard.

 

“Come on guy’s I told you she was cool.” Amethyst said, she punched Domina gently. There was a slight gasp before Domina punched her back and grinned. A beat of silence later the cheek amethyst spoke up.

 

“Eh she talks like she’s clear as glass but she’s alright.” Cheek amethyst said with a shrug, “She kept sodalite from powdering the beta’s so that's gotta count for something right?”

 

“I’d say that counts for a lot,” Domina said, “Are you 8XK?”

 

“Yep thats me.” the cheek amethyst, she was nudged by another amethyst with extremely curly hair and snapped a salute. “Uh, Your Brilliance.”

 

“It’s just Domina, I’m assuming you’re all column 8X?”  Domina said.

 

“Yes Your, er.. Domina.” The Curly haired amethyst said after the Crystal Gem amethyst gave her a look.”

 

“Nice to meet you,” She said smiling then nodded at the group of jaspers and carnelian nearby. “And you all are from the Beta kindergarten?”

 

“Yeah, we’re what’s left.” a skinny jasper said.

 

“Oh! And your Skinny!” Domina said excitedly. “The one that patched into the Wailing Stone transmission!”

 

“Yes...” Skinny said uncomfortably.

 

“I’d really like to see how you did it if you could-”

 

“Yo, Jay, ask her.” Amethyst, their amethyst, said nudging the curly haired amethyst. Domina paused and looked back at the amethysts. Jay glared at Amethyst briefly then looked at domina.

 

“So uh... We don’t have any problem helping you and Yellow Diamond taking back homeworld but um...” Jay glanced around at them then back to Domina. “What happens to us after? We’re not really going to be needed here.”

 

There hadn’t been a whole lot of talk about ‘after’, shards, Yellow Diamond and Domina hadn’t even talked about what they were going to do with Blue. It was practically a miracle that they had gotten this far.

 

“Well... where do you want to go?” Domina asked. “I... I can’t speak for Yellow but if you want a place in my court somewhere you’re welcome to it, we always can use more help in the fleet and... who knows what kind of state the rest of the empires in right now.” The quartzes looked at eachother.

 

“All of us?” Carnelian asked.

 

“Yes why not?” Domina said.

 

“Well, we haven’t been able to transfer out and we’re uh...” Skinny looked between herself and Carnelian along with a few of the more off color gems.

 

“Shards like I have room to care.” Domina said. “I’m only half gem.” self deprecation had always worked in the past with quartzes, and, from the smiles from the famethyst, it seemed to still work now.  “Let me know where you want to go. And I’ll do my best to get you there.”

 


	48. XLVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I was right, the end of the zoo arc is a little longer, but this is the last chapter for it and next we're heading towards the rebel base where nothing bad at all will happen. hehehe.
> 
> Anyway this chapter is Beta'd! thanks to squish we've managed to add 8 commas and a ton of apostrophes as grammar continues to be the worst. Hopefully you guys enjoy the chapter, I will see you monday!

“A dagger? Seriously?!” Milky Quartz 9ZQ said. Yellow Pearl watched with amusement as White and the Milky Quartz both inspected Pink’s newly discovered weapon.

 

“Yes, it’s not quite what I was expecting.” White mused.

 

“Not what I meant!” 9ZQ said. “You were scary enough before you could summon a weapon!”

 

“What?” Pink said, her eyes wide and layered with mock confusion. “A big strong Quartz like you is afraid of a delicate thing like me?”

 

“Oh no!” 9ZQ said. “You can’t pull that innocent pearl trick on me!”

 

Yellow Pearl glanced to the side and saw Sodalite’s pearl watching all this with a frown.

 

“Pearls shouldn’t be able to summon weapons.” She said. “That’s not our purpose.”

 

“That is true, but they haven’t let that stop them so far.” Yellow Pearl said awkwardly. It was so strange to hear the same words she had said come out of someone else’s mouth.

 

“Yes, we’ve kind of been throwing that whole ‘purpose’ thing out the window.” Domina said, walking towards them. Sodalite’s pearl squeaked and quickly snapped a salute, Yellow Pearl sighed. Domina’s smile weakened.  “You really don’t have to do that. I am sorry about earlier though.”

 

“What did you do?” Yellow Pearl asked. She glanced towards the other side of the room to see rose quartzes making their way through the base. No sign of her diamond though which was... unusual. “Pink, did you see where My Diamond went?” Pink pursed her lips.

 

“She was in Pink Diamond’s room the last time I saw her.” Pink said. Yellow pursed her lips, she could ignore it, let her diamond deal with her emotional distress on her own. She sighed.

 

“I’ll be back.” She said, heading towards Pink Diamond’s room.

 

“Yellow wait, I can-” Domina said walking after her. Yellow Pearl turned and smiled. 

 

“I appreciate the offer Domina, but I am the one that is used to dealing with her moods.” Yellow said. Domina hesitated but nodded and returned to the group. 

 

Yellow Diamond was indeed inside Pink Diamond’s room. She had returned to her full height but was sitting cross legged on the floor in front of what had been Pink Diamond’s bed. She didn’t react when the door shut behind Yellow Pearl. Her diamond may not have been able to project her emotions, but the unease and grief from Yellow Diamond was palpable. She sat practically huddled in front of the bed, her hands clutched to her gem. Yellow Pearl hesitated, her Diamond did not often grieve openly, not even when it was just two of them. Instead, she stopped next to her Diamond and awkwardly glanced around the room.

 

The room was startlingly empty and almost echoed as the pearl made her way towards the diamond. Beyond where the rose quartzes had hung, she could see the rings of the neighboring planet, one of White Diamond’s if she remembered correctly.

 

“The last time we spoke I did nothing to help.” Yellow Diamond said, Yellow Pearl looked up at the diamond whose eyes were focused on the wall in front of her. “I told her that the Crystal Gems should have been dealt with from the beginning, and yelled at her for losing so many of my troops.”  Yellow Pearl remembered that call, Pink Diamond had ended it by saying that she would be visiting the battlefield, to attempt to strategize yet again with the generals. She was captured before she reached her destination.

 

“You couldn’t have known.” Yellow Pearl said.

 

“It doesn’t make it any better.” Yellow Diamond said. “I... I should have done more.” Yellow Pearl froze as she saw the tears starting to leak from her diamond’s eyes. Shards, what was she supposed to do when that happened? She had only seen Yellow Diamond cry once before. “If I had really wanted her to succeed I would have actually done something.” Yellow Diamond said, bringing her hand to her face to wipe away the tears. 

 

The worst part is that she was right, Yellow Pearl had watched her diamond’s interactions with the younger diamonds in the past and they had been... harsh. 

 

“You... did what you thought was right, My Diamond.” Yellow Pearl said. There was a grumble from her diamond as she angrily rubbed away the tears.

 

“Do not make excuses for me, Pearl.” Yellow Diamond snapped. 

 

“Well, what do you want me to say?” Yellow Pearl asked. “You’re right! Absolutely right!” Yellow Diamond looked down at her, slightly startled. “But what do you want me to do about it, My Diamond?”

 

“I... I don’t know.” 

 

“Then... you should know that you are changing, you...” Yellow Pearl sighed, more out of relief than anything. “You would have shattered me if I had dared to talk to you like this months ago.” Yellow Diamond nodded in agreement.

 

“Without question.” She said. 

 

“And you never would have left Domina to deal with a rebellion on her own.” 

 

“Domina’s different,”

 

“Not by much.” Yellow Pearl said, though she never would have implied that to Pink.

 

“Still, I...” Yellow Diamond’s words faded off. Carefully, Yellow Pearl put a hand on her arm. She had never really touched her diamond, she wasn’t particularly tactile. But at the moment it seemed like the thing to do. 

 

“You will do better, I’m sure of it.”

 

****

 

“Your Brilliance,” Holly Blue said. Domina froze from her conversation with Lapis and the peridots about the structure of the water pipes, and turned. 

 

“Holly Blue, please. Just Domina is fine.” She said. The agate was still saluting and sheepishly dropped her arms.

 

“Ah yes, I was wondering if I might speak with you.” She asked. Domina nodded and waited for her to continue. “Privately? Your Bril-er... Domina.”

 

“Oh yes, of course.” Domina nodded to Lapis and the peridots and gestured for Holly Blue to follow her away from the group.

 

“As a loyal member of Blue Diamond’s court I feel obligated to ask-” Holly Blue began, Domina cut her off with a wry grin.

 

“Are you really?”

 

“Really what, Your Brilliance?” Holly Blue asked puzzled.

 

“Loyal? If you were I would have thought you would have exposed us to Sodalite the moment that you recognized White Pearl.” Domina asked.

 

“I... was distracted, but I would never betray you or her Luminousness.” Holly Blue said quickly. Domina sighed, she didn’t entirely believe that reasoning but 8XK had said she was alright. That had to count for something.

 

“Your question, Agate?” She asked. 

 

“What is your plan for My Diamond and her court after you have... after you have retaken your position on Homeworld.” Holly Blue asked nervously. Well that answer was simple enough.

 

“We don’t know,” Domina said with a shrug. “Her court will most likely continue as is, though I’m sure we will have to do some amount of shuffling. Your quartzes have already been told that I am willing to have them reassigned to just about any post that they want and I am more than willing to extend that offer to you if you wish.” She said,  Holly Blue looked both shocked and delighted at the prospect. “But as for Blue Diamond,” Domina said, the agate’s face suddenly went more serious. “I just don’t know. Yellow Diamond and I haven’t discussed what the plan is. Though, I can tell you with certainty that she will not be shattered.” She said. That seemed to calm Holly Blue’s worries.

 

“Thank you, Your Brilliance.” Holly Blue said.

 

“Holly, please, it’s Domina.” She said with a smile.  

 

When they returned to the atrium a rose quartz with an ear gem was waiting for them. Or rather for Domina.

 

“White Diamond.” The Rose Quartz said, “ 2AL- er, Steven said there’s something that you should see.”

 

“Oh, well alright then, lead the way, and your cut?”

 

“2HP, White Diamond. This way.” The Rose Quartz lead her through the hallways to the lower levels of the stations, in an area just bordering the containment area.

 

“What... is this?” She said, already feeling too close to the zoo proper. The atrium had been fine but she did not need to be reminded of the zoo’s purpose.

 

“It’s where the humans’ belongings go after they’re processed.” 2HP said. Domina felt her blood go cold.

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yes, I believe Steven and his friend came here to get their clothes back.” 2HP opened the door. Inside were shelves and shelves of clear tubs. Steven and Connie were both wearing their normal clothes and Steven had an additional box under his arm that seemed to contain another set of clothes, probably from the Crystal Gems’ first trip to the zoo.

 

“You two look more comfortable.” Domina said trying not to stare at the boxes. The words  _ stripped of our identity _ echoed through her head. 

 

“Yeah, this is much better.” Steven said.

 

“We found something else too.” Connie said and she held out a box. Domina took it, though she didn’t want to. “2AK looked up your dad’s records for us.” Domina nodded mutely and stared at the box, inside was a pale piece of cloth, along with pins and a length of animal hide that was supposed to turn into a tunic. There were two rough sandals, that really didn’t look like much, and at the bottom a necklace with a pendant. A bulla, an amulet to protect children from evil spirits. Apparently it didn’t work on gems.

 

“Domina... are you ok?” Steven asked.

 

“I’m fine.” Domina said shortly, closing the box again. “I... I’m sorry, I just need to get out of this place.” She started to back out of the room. “Thank you, Connie.”

 

“You’re welcome.” Connie said, a hint of worry in her voice. Domina made her way to the hangar. They should be leaving soon anyway. She ran into Pink Agate 5HT on the way, the Agate was carrying several boxes that she recognized as the kind for the zoo fruits. 

 

“White Diamond.” 5HT said with a nod. Domina opened the door to the ship for her wordlessly and somewhat startled the agate went through. “The kunzites wish to send their apologies, apparently the calories on your food should have been upped a long time ago.” Domina looked down at the clothes that had gotten a little tighter after eating food on Earth for six months. She had noticed she had filled out but hadn’t thought anything of it. She had never stuck to the recommended dosage for the zoo fruit really anyway but until going to Earth, eating hadn’t really been anything but a chore to make sure she stayed alive.

 

“Well that’s... good to know I guess.” Domina said, she set down her father’s box and started putting away the food. 

 

“Is that... Your father's belongings?” Pink Agate asked.

 

“Yes.” Domina glanced over her shoulder. “Are there systems in place to phase out the human zoo?” She asked. Pink Agate stammered for a moment.

 

“Uh, yes, yes of course but Your Brilliance, I-”

 

“Please don’t call me that.” Domina said. “I’m not looking at decommissioning you or your people, I just...” Domina looked at the box,  _ I didn’t know these people and the gods know all I wanted to do was go home.  _ “We shouldn’t have allowed this to happen in the first place. We can find places for you and the rose quartzes elsewhere but it’s... it’s cruel to allow this to continue.” She said. Pink Agate hesitated and then nodded.

 

“Are you taking control of the zoo?” She asked.

 

“For now, I’ll discuss further with you and 5HV when this is all over but this cannot be allowed to continue.” Domina said.

 

“I understand, White Diamond.” 5HT said before leaving. Domina sat down next to the box  and opened it again, drawing out the bulla. It was heavy, made of lead, she was pretty sure, with a picture of Ulysses on the front. She slipped it over her head and let it rest against her chest, hoping it could bring peace to her aching heart.


	49. XLIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof another long one. but we have a new pov! so thats exciting. This chapter comes to you unfortunately unbeta'd but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
> 
> See you Friday

 

Adding a little over twenty quartzes to their ships capacity was not nearly as difficult as it could have been. White was being rather smug about that, considering the larger internal capacity had been something she had argued extensively over with Peridot 5XG. 5XG for her part was very pointedly ignoring White’s vindicated smile as everyone piled in. Pink Pearl went through the preflight check with Yellow Pearl after a brief check that Domina was on board. And they left the human zoo, starting on a 48 hour trip towards the Omega Quadrant.

 

****

 

The loyalty of pearls to their owners was absolute. Sodalite’s Pearl stood in the corner of this slipshod ship and focused on the image of her sodalite’s bubble hovering ignored in the atrium of the human zoo. The rebels milled around her, Lapis Lazuli deigned to interact with quartzes and peridots.

 

The gems that had been Aquamarine’s Topaz bodyguards clung tightly to each other. This was unseemly but they were not the worst offenders here. That title went to the  abomination comprised at least partially of a sapphire, listened eagerly while the grotesque hybrid introduced her to them.

 

The Diamonds were there to, Yellow Diamond and the baffling hybrid that was White Diamond. What kind of Diamond apologized to a pearl?

 

She had been present when Blue Diamond had spoken with her Sodalite about the capture of the two rebellious diamonds. Her Lustrousness had anticipated that they would receive help from the defunct ‘Crystal Gems’ but even Blue Diamonds chief sapphires could not have foreseen just what kind of power they would have behind them.

 

She could do it herself. It was far outside her intended purpose, but she could not stand by ideally while her Sodalite hung unformed in a backwater station. She could claim that it had all been part of the plan. She could earn the accolade for her Sodalite and maneuver her gem to the right hand of Blue Diamond herself.  What better thing could she do to serve her gem?

 

Sodalite’s Pearl glanced to where Blue Diamond’s former pearl was staring out the window lost in thought. At a time like this, the loyalty of pearls needed to be reinforced more than ever.

 

****

 

Domina was much harder to get alone now that there were more gems on board. And it didn’t help that she seemed to want to talk to _all_ of them right this minute, as if they weren’t stuck on this ship for another 36 hours. Yellow Diamond waited impatiently by the doorway to the bridge for Domina to finally finish talking with the off color jasper about communication systems. Steven and Connie had already given up and gone to rest, away from the chaos.

 

“Wait, Wait,” The Milky Quartz said cutting in. She focused on Domina. “Pebble, how long have you been up?” Yellow Diamond knew at this point there was no point objecting to Domina’s demeaning nickname.

 

“Oh... roughly eighteen hours at this point.” Domina said with a shrug.

 

“Yeah, you need to sleep or something.” Milky Quartz said.

 

“No I don’t I’m fine.” Domina said.

 

“Domina.” Moss Agate called from across the room.

 

“I am four thousand, six hundred and twenty years old, I am more than capable of deciding whether I need to rest or not.” Domina said. Pink’s Pearl turned around in her chair briefly.

 

“You are four thousand, six hundred and _thirty three,_ Domina, and go to bed, there’s plenty of time until we reach the station.” She said, remarkably sternly.

 

“But I-”

 

“Domina,” Pink’s Pearl said again. Domina frowned and pursed her lips. Yellow Diamond could see the unease from everyone who hadn’t heard a version of this exact conversation on a regular basis for the past six months. Domina grumbled and nodded to the skinny jasper before turning to walk out of the room, Yellow Diamond followed.

 

“You heard that Yellow, I’m under orders.” Domina said lightly. Yellow Diamond sighed.

 

“We need to talk,”

 

“It can’t wait?” Domina asked stopping just outside the room her and the other two organics had claimed.

 

“It shouldn’t.” Yellow said, the subject should have been broached long before the argument in the atrium. Domina looked at her and after a moment her face went serious.

 

“Alright, which thing do we need to talk about?” She asked leaning against the wall and folding her arms. “The impending negotiations with the rest of the New Rebellion or... Blue.” Yellow frowned.

 

“What do you mean? We’ve already been through negotiations.” She said. In response Domina gave her a patronizing look that reminded Yellow of Domina’s mother oh so much.

 

“Yes baseline ones, you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed that Blue Pearl wants more out of this. And rightly so.” She said.

 

“That’s not what we agreed to Domina,” Yellow said.

 

“It’s not but it may be what we need.” Domina said. “A chance to start over.” White Diamond practically idolized new beginnings, she had with each of the authority, and with each new galaxy they came across. Not for the first time, Yellow Diamond wondered how much of Domina’s mother was lurking within her. She shook her head.

 

“Whatever, what are we going to do with Blue?” she asked. Domina nodded.

 

“Well, what do you think we should do?” She asked. Yellow hesitated, she knew what the answer should be. What the answer would have been if White was still here.

 

“She... should be.. shattered.” She said. Domina frowned, that hadn’t been the answer she had wanted apparently.

 

“When I said we’re not shattering anyone, I meant it.” she said softly. “I suppose the closest thing would be just to keep her bubbled and split her duties between the two of us. Not like you need anymore work.” Somehow leaving Blue bubbled was almost worse, but what other choice did they have? It wasn’t as if she would forgive either of them after all of this. Things were fractured between the two of them, maybe even more so between Blue and Domina.

 

“Whatever you think is best.” Yellow Diamond said stiffly. “After all, it is your authority.” Domina slowly placed her hand on the door for the room, she suddenly looked, much more tired.

 

“It’s not just my decision.” She said. “I’m not doing this alone, you deserve input.” She looked at Yellow. “We’re going to figure this out together.”

 

Yellow stared at her for a moment and then nodded, feeling like some kind of weight had been lifted from her.

 

“Get some sleep Domina,” she said.

 

“I plan on it.” Domina said smiling at her, she turned to the door and opened it, allowing light to stream in from the hallway. Then after a period of indecision she turned away from the open door and approached Yellow. She folded her arms then unfolded and folded again before finally embracing Yellow Diamond in a hug.

 

“Thank you so much.” Domina said. “I know this is all mostly my fault and that none of this is even close to how you wanted to spend the last 6 months. But, thank you for giving them a chance.” Yellow Diamond was frozen completely, then slowly raised an arm and, patted Domina’s back. She didn’t know when the last time they had ever touched had been. Domina was probably just over tired, that was a thing with humans right?

 

“Domina go to bed before your Pearl has to come out here and tell you again.” Yellow Diamond said. Domina laughed and wiped her face. Yellow could see a stone pendant thump back against the hybrids chest as she turned. She chose not to comment. The door closed behind Domina. And Yellow Diamond was left alone in the corridor. White would have never hugged her. And maybe she had been right about the appeal of a fresh start.

  


****

It was easy to dream big about rebellion and building a better life when your standing in a corner, choking on your own tears, waiting for whatever next order your going to be given. It’s quite a different thing to see a future hurtling towards you, nearly faster than you can put your plans into motion.

After millenia of only feeling snippets of her own emotions, Blue Pearl did enjoy the range she felt nowaday. But fear... fear and anxiety she could do without. Red had been given a warning of who all they were arriving with, but had she passed that information on to the rest of the new rebellion. The gems that had joined them, would they cooperate with the deal that had been, and would be struck.

Would they even be able to hold up their end of the bargain? Or would all of them end up as shards scattered at Blue Diamonds feet? Could she face her Diamond again?

“Blue?” Yellow asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Hm?”

“We’re coming up on the base. Do you want to see if we can send a message to Red?”

“Yes, yes, of course.” She said approaching the console. Enough worries, those questions would be answered soon enough.

 

****

_Sweet mother, I cannot weave –_

_slender Aphrodite has overcome me_

_with longing for a girl._

Domina frowned and closed the book of Sappho’s poems, setting it on top of yet another poetry that had offended her due to its protagonists focus on love.

“Can’t relate.” She muttered, didn’t these people have more important things to think about than love and romance? She picked up the copy of the Aeneid.

“You really don’t have to keep me company if your books aren’t interesting.” Connie said. They were sitting alone in the room, Steven had left after deciding that watching Domina try to work her way through latin poetry and Connie work her way through pythagoras's theory was boring.

“No it’s fine, I have barely looked at these.” Domina said. The Aeneid was starting with a fleet looking for a home, that made it already ten times more interesting than whatever Aphrodite had a hand in.

“Guy’s, Guy’s!” Steven yelled bursting into the room. “We’re landing!” Domina immediately closed the book and set it aside, running out of the room before Connie had put away her pencil.

The station in the Omega sector was an older design of course. Closer to what the zoo looked like actually, minus the bulbous containment area. It sat within an asteroid field, secluded, though there was a small planet nearby. They landed in the hanger where the only gem awaiting them was a pearl. Her gem was on her cheek and she had a tall hairdo, wearing a simple dress with not a trace of the customary sheer material that most Pearl’s wore. She was red. Domina waited just behind Blue who emerged from the ship first. The moment Blue Pearl waved her hand in their direction Domina leapt out of the ship. Then flailed wildly as the gravity did not carry her to the ground in the way that she had anticipated.

“Shards!” Domina yelped and she fought to regain her balance.

“I’m sorry! So so so sorry!” Red said frantically. “The gravity controls have been on the fritz for the last decade and a half, normally it doesn’t matter but-”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Domina said holding up her hands in what she hoped was a calming gesture. “Just took me by surprise. You must be Red.” She said, her smile a little more forced than she would have liked, she really hated irregular gravity. “It’s nice to meet you I’m Domina.”

“I uh...” Red glanced from Domina to Pink who had emerged ahead of the others the moment she had heard Domina’s cries. Behind her, Connie and Steven floated gracefully to the ground. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” She said before being hugged by Pink. Domina smiled and looked around the hanger. There were some ancient escape pods, and a handfull of equally as old short range transport ships but nothing substantial, everything probably needed inspected. Back towards the station proper though, they were being watched. Red may have been the only one who greeted them outright, but there were almost two dozen gems clustered at the door, trying to get a glimpse at the new arrivals. Domina could pick two out of the crowd. One, a carnelian who was more lapis shaped than quartz shaped and two, an oversized rutile, whom Domina had last seen hefting a material ax across from her in a fighting ring.  

“Oh my stars.” Domina said grinning at them widely. Both gems’ eyes went wide and they shoved the others out of the way in an attempt to escape from her. Domina was not deterred. She flew over to them. “You two are ok? You managed to get off Homeworld?”

“I-we-uh-” the carnelian stammered.

“Your Brilliance, I am so sorry I didn’t know at the time that it was-” The rutile said quickly.

“Oh no it’s fine, I’m not mad I-” Domina said. Her apologies were drowned in the gasps as Yellow Diamond stepped off the ship. Domina sighed. She had hoped, foolishly, they could be subtle.


	50. L

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! welcome to chapter 50 *insert panicked and unbelieving screams here.* This chapter is beta'd by Squish but does introduce, or reintroduce a few characters and.... lets be honest, theres a lot of characters in this fic. One of these days I'm going to have to put together a sheet with all of them. 
> 
> Other things that are going on right now, I have another fic, titled 'Emergence', about the early days of the gempire that was started and is up to chapter 2, it's not really canon to this fic but my idea of whats canon kind of exists in a nebulous cloud anyway. Theres also another fic called 'In Media Res' which is going to be snippets from the Vulgaris Adamas universe. It should have atleast one more chapter up here soon but given my schedule who knows. A reminder to check out the links down below, if you pop over to the blog you'll see the reread I've been doing while I try to plot the next chunk of chapters, and theres also a discord that everyone is welcome to join!
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> See you monday

Diamonds always brought tension with them. After all, all gems had been programmed to fear and respect them. By this point the Crystal Gems were used to both Yellow Diamond’s and Domina’s presence. But, said tension had returned the moment the quartzes had boarded the ship and hadn’t dissipated during the last 48 hours. But the moment Yellow Diamond stepped off the ship, Domina could see it hit her like a wall. And she actually looked startled, startled enough to pause in the doorway before stepping to the side.

"It's just a peridot." Domina said as 9NY followed Yellow Diamond off the ship. Her attempt at humor didn't work, though Yellow Diamond did give a slight snort of amusement. Peridot 9NY was followed by 9ZQ, who took one look at the pair Domina was standing by before her face split into a grin. 

"You two are still around?" She asked, walking over. "I figured you got picked up by patrols after Era 1." Domina looked between 9ZQ and the carnelian and rutile. 

"We uh..." Rutile glanced at Domina tensely, then looked back at 9ZQ. "Dodged them then, nearly didn't this time though."

"You're st-t-t-ill alive, 9ZQ?" Carnelian asked. Her form flickered for a brief second and Domina noticed the hairline fracture in her gem. "We hadn't seen you since the war." 

"I'm the only Zee these days, you don't have to bother with the full cut. But, yeah I'm not allowed on Homeworld anymore." 9ZQ said flippantly, that was actually news to Domina. 

"Wait, you're not?" Domina asked. "Why?"

"Long story, Pebble, I'll tell you when you're older." Zee said with a smirk, then she frowned and looked between Domina and the other two. "Wait. How do you know them?" Domina was suddenly aware of Pearl being within ear shot. She chuckled nervously.

"Oh... you know... burning off excess energy." She said.

"In illegal fight rings?" Zee said "Like not just normal illegal, highly illegal ones." 

"Domina!" Pearl scolded. Domina sighed.

"Pearl, it was months ago,"

"You could have been hurt!" 

"But I'm fine!" Domina said, Pearl's reply was interrupted by half a column's worth of limb enhancer clad Era 2 peridots squirming their way through the crowd to the atrium. 

"What in star’s name is that thing?" One of them, with her gem over her left eye said, scrutinizing the ship.

"It's a ship, roughly specs out to a modified cruiser." Domina said, she was being scrutinized by the other peridots. "Built it ourselves, I think 5XG has the plans on her tablet if you want to look at-"

"What." The Peridot said flatly. Domina gestured behind her to where Lapis and Peridot 5XG were leaning against the ship. 5XG noticed the movement and Domina saw her face go completely pale.

“5XG! You CLOD!” 

****

Pink Pearl had met Red shortly after she had joined the New Rebellion. Red had once belonged to one of Blue Diamond’s pyropes and was one of the first to escape to the base. Before she had been nervous, and prone to freezing when overwhelmed. Now Red was visibly nervous, being in a hanger with two diamonds and the legendary veterans of a thousand year long war would make just about anyone nervous. But she didn’t freeze. 

“Iolite!” She called to a blue gem huddled at the door with the others. “Get Feldspar please, and Mauve if you can find her.” The iolite apparently managed to hear her over the sound of the bickering peridots and disappeared into the hallway.

“Have you had any issues with the new people?” Pink asked. “And any update on Jet?” Domina had moved to speak with a few other gems that were slowly moving into the hanger. Steven was just as gregarious, eagerly introducing himself and a rather overwhelmed Connie.

“Nothing major, so we’ve been able to keep the peace so far.” Red said. “As for Jet, we’ll update you shortly.” An undercooked feldspar gently parted the crowd at the door and whistled when she saw the ship.

“That sure is something.” She said. She was wide and much much taller than normal, feldspars were technicians one rung above peridots, along with cargo pilots. From what Pink understood, Feldspar had woken up to a kindergarten still in the injecting phases. She had managed to avoid processing simply by virtue of no one expecting her to be out yet. Also she gave great hugs. 

“Pink!” Feldspar said lifting her up into a firm hug. Pink was put down and Feldspar quickly replaced her with Blue. “So glad you guys are ok!” Feldspar turned to look at the Crystal Gems and smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you, welcome.” White blushed and Amethyst grinned. Garnet however was a little bit distracted and walked towards a purple figure who had glided into the hanger.

“A sapphire and a-” She said.

“Ruby.” Mauve replied cocking her head to the side. Pink could see one of her eyes briefly come into view before her hair flopped back over her face. From next to Yellow she could see Sodalite’s former pearl giving the two fusions a very disapproving look. “I hear that that's quite a-”

“As much as yours I’m sure, you are absolutely-” Garnet said with an ear splitting grin.

“Why, yes, I know.” Mauve said, bringing both arms out of her cloak to brush the blush from her face. “As are you.”

“The incident at-”

“Was not entirely your fault, from what I understand the-”

“True, though if it had then-” Garnet said, folding her arms with a melancholy smile.

“But the possibilities would not quite come together in this way and I believe that this course of fate may be the ideal-”

“Are we ever going to hear the other half of this conversation?” Yellow Diamond muttered.

“Probably not.” Mossy Agate said. “Listening to sapphires always gives me a headache and this isn’t any better.”

Pink rolled her eyes and saw Domina making a careful approach. Mauve turned to look at her with a soft smile before she had even spoken up.

“Ah, the new diamond.” She said. Domina looked stunned for a moment then nodded and bowed low to the fusion. There was a small gasp from the rest of the crowd and Pink could see Yellow Diamond sigh and put her hand over her face.

“Mauve, I presume?” Domina said, raising herself, her face was very sober. Mauve nodded wordlessly. “I apologize for the circumstances under which I last spoke with your components.”

“You were bound by the circumstances as much as Pearl and Sapphire were.” Mauve said.

“I don’t know if that is necessarily true.” Domina said with a slight frown. “But nonetheless, I apologize that I could not do more to prevent... well honestly, this entire event from occuring.” 

“You have done more than enough to make up for the outcome of the trial. They would never have found each other again without your influence.” Mauve said, then inclined herself slightly to Domina. A hush had fallen over the room, one that Amethyst thankfully broke.

“Geeze, Dom, you gotta warn people when you break out all that formal stuff.” Amethyst said. Domina went red but laughed. 

“Sorry, sometimes the diamond voice is the right tool for the job.” She said, still smiling at Mauve. Pink had heard the ‘diamond voice’ many times from three different diamonds. And at this moment she couldn’t think of a better time it had ever been used.


	51. LI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof where to start... So this is like super late, even for me but the chapter fought me the entire time and then I learned we were getting new episodes the 2nd and I actually had stuff to do at work today... it was just all around kind of a crapshoot. Unfortunately I will NOT be haveing a chapter on friday, and I would love to say thats the last break I will be taking but it's defintiely not. hopefully I will remember to remind you ahead of time. if you ever have any questions about that though you can always check the blog where I usually post whether there will be a chapter or not. 
> 
> I do hope you enjoy this chapter, despite the wait and the fact that it's not really beta'd. feel free to yell at me in the comments if you don't like it, lol.
> 
> see you guys next week!

A diamond bowing to a fusion? A fusion with a pearl nonetheless! Sodalite’s Pearl couldn’t quite believe this. White Diamond may have been strange, an unfortunate byproduct of her hybrid form, but this was almost unacceptable. 

 

“Blue,” The pearl fusion said. “This seems to be the opportune time to proceed.” Blue Diamond’s Pearl nodded hesitantly. 

 

“Yes, of course.” She said before turning to address White Diamond directly, arms at her side and hands clenched nervously. “Domina, What you said... back at the drop ship.” White Diamond smiled instead of ordering the irreverent Pearl shattered.

 

“Oh good,  I was getting worried we were never going to get to talk. I assume you will want me and Yellow, er.. Yellow Diamond?” White Diamond asked. Blue Diamond’s Pearl looked away, not to ask for Yellow Diamond directly, but to look at the pearl who was standing next to Sodalite’s Pearl. Sodalite’s Pearl glanced at Yellow Diamond’s Pearl, who looked at her diamond then seemed to think for a moment before nodding at Blue Diamonds Pearl.

 

“Yes,” Blue Diamond’s Pearl said.

 

“Excellent,” White Diamond said. “Lead the way.”

 

“Should we uh...” the Renegade looked between the two diamonds and the ruby and sapphire  fusion, who shook her head.

 

“No, this part doesn’t involve us.” She said. Sodalites Pearl turned to look around at the rest of the hanger. Gems just milling around without purpose, this was madness.

 

***

 

“So, this might not exactly be the right time to ask this,” Domina said as they moved through the hallways to the meeting room. Yellow was just behind her, radiating a general kind of uncomfortableness that practically forced everyone else to leave her to the rear. “But what happened to the gems that were supposed to be stationed here?”

 

“They’re in the atrium.” Feldspar said cheerily. Domina was really trying to figure out exactly how this undercooked feldspar had fallen in with this group of pearls but she supposed it made as much sense as a group of pearls taking over an empire scouting outpost. She felt the bulla around her next thud against her chest as the gravity fluctuated.

 

“And I suppose that you didn’t order for maintenance at any point.” Domina glanced at Pink who went a shade darker and shook her head.

 

“We uh... thought it was best to avoid arousing any suspicion.” Red said. Domina beat her to the door pad and opened the door without saying anything, just shaking her head.

 

“Next time any of you think of ‘borrowing’ a remote outpost at least let me know so that scheduled maintenance can stay uninterrupted.” Domina said as the bulla began to float yet again.

 

“Domina!” Yellow hissed.

 

“It was a joke!” Domina said rolling her eyes. “Mostly, It’s hard to make new stations we have to take care of the ones we have.” she could see a smile break through the serious expression on Blue Pearls face.

 

“Next time you will be the first to know Wh- Domina.” She said and opened the door to the meeting room. It had been stripped of any trappings that would mark it as being part of the loyal part of the gem empire but still had the chairs and table, though the table had to be cleared of what looked like kindergarten reports. Domina took a seat across from Blue and Yellow Diamond sat next to her.  The remaining four sat on Blue’s side and for a long tense moment no one said anything.

 

“So, what was that about a jet?” Domina asked in an attempt to break the silence. Red chuckled nervously, and took the stack of holofische Feldspar slid over to her.

 

“Jet is a pearl, Domina.” Peal said, also smiling from the sudden break in tension.

 

“What?” Yellow asked baffled.

 

“Jet, belongs- er belonged I suppose, to a Jet from Blue Diamonds court.” Blue said softly.

 

“Yeah, definitely ‘belonged’ in past tense.” Feldspar said. 

 

“What happened?” Domina asked, she thought she remembered the pearl they were talking about. Her gem had been over her eye. The Jet she belonged to was absent minded but had been a wealth of information when it came to domestic law.

 

“She uh...” Red glanced at Blue then at Yellow Diamond, who sighed.

 

“Go on.”

 

“....Blew up her Jet’s spire after escaping from a processing facility.” Domina’s jaw dropped. Yellow Diamond nodded.

 

“Thats... fair I suppose.” She said. Domina stared at Yellow Diamond for a moment, not quite believing what she had heard  _ that _ come out of Yellow’s mouth.

 

“So from what we can tell,” Red said projecting an image of homeworld with locations noted. “She has been taking out the gems Blue Diamond has installed as district heads, probably in an attempt to further cause chaos.”

 

“She also might just be mad.” Feldspar said, “we’re pretty sure a lot of this is just because she’s mad.” 

 

“Understandable.” Domina said, though part of her had gone cold. ‘Gems that Blue Diamond had  _ installed _ as district heads? What had happened to the old ones?

 

“And... it’s just her?” Yellow Diamond said. Since when was she interested, what in the star’s name had happened? Pink and Blue look equally confused, but Red continued.

 

“At first yes, there were eleven other gems, 6 pearls, a peridot, a citrine, two kunzites and a haleite. But they all were... captured.” Red said, her face going grim. Domina thought back to day in the Diamond authority’s citadel. 

 

_ “And really Blue” _ Yellow had said. _ “You're going to believe one desperate gem’s attempts to save her shards from being scattered across the floor?” _

 

_ “No not one, twelve.” _ Blue had been seething. _ “Twelve separate gems, all found to be members of this ‘New Rebellion’, all have implied that you know something.” _

 

And then after... after she had sent Pink away there had been the message about a jet that was relinquishing her...

 

“Oh shards.” Domina muttered.  The eyes in the room turned towards her and she took a deep breath. “I... Jet  her-” Mauve spoke up for the first time since they had sat.

 

“The time for blame is long past White Diamond.” Mauve said, Domina flinched slightly but calmed when she saw Mauves 3 eyes staring back at her from slightly parted bangs. “Events have been pushed into motion and the only way is forward.”

 

“Do you always speak so dramatically?” Yellow Diamond said dryly.

 

“Yes.” Mauve said with a smile, leaning back into her chair.

 

“...Anyway, we think that Jet has managed to recruit at least 5 other gems, that would be the only way she would be able to pull of these levels of plans.” Red finished awkwardly. Blue nodded.

 

“Is there any kind of count on how many gems have been lost in....the last 6 months I suppose?” Domina asked.

 

“There was some kind of purge on homeworld, I think what happened is Blue Diamond tightened the acceptability standards for gems.” Feldspar said. 

 

“Of course she did.” Yellow Diamond muttered rubbing her hand against her temples. 

 

“Yes so reports are... not good.” Red said.

 

“So we have no clue who is going to be left.” Pink said frowning. Feldspar nodded.

 

“Anyone visibly defected was harvested or shattered, and the same to  anyone who remained openly loyal to you two.” She said. Domina nodded solemnly, she needed to find the gems who made it from the fleet, there had to be more out there. Yellow Diamond next to her pursed her lips and looked away. 

 

“Well, it’s not like we weren’t already in a resource crisis.” She said, then folded her arms and looked at Domina. 

 

“So, it looks like you’ve got us in a good position to negotiate.” Domina said forcing down her anger and sadness. “What ideas do you have?” Domina could see the other 4 turn to blue who was looking much more nervous than she had moments before.

 

“We...” Blue Pearl said staring at the floor, she looked up, to a spot at Yellow Diamonds right. Where Yellow Pearl always stood. Then she took another breath and began again.

 

“We started this rebellion because we saw... the truth that the Crystal Gems had led with.” Blue Pearl said, she wasn’t staring at the table anymore, now she was looking at both of them. Domina smiled encouragingly, she had heard a little about the New Rebellion before but this sounded more like a full story. “That we could become more than the purpose we had been programmed with. That the caste system hurt the Diamonds as much as it did Pearls.” Yellow Diamond snorted and Domina elbowed her. That much was true even if Yellow wouldn’t agree.

 

“And we thought that if we moved carefully that it could be settled without an entire planet being wiped out.” Blue Pearl said, she smiled ruefully “Of course, this isn’t exactly the situation I thought would happen but...”

 

“But, it will do.” Pearl said.

 

“And I don’t think we’re going to get a better time.” Domina said encouragingly, she then glanced at Yellow with a smile. “Unless of course Yellow’s planning a secret coup behind my and Blue’s back.” Yellow looked at her unamused.

 

“I’ve been too busy.”  She said.

 

“Something we will have to talk about at some point.” Domina said, she turned back to blue. “So what are your ideas?”

 

“Well, what you said yourself, to me and to Yellow.” Blue said. “Pearls are the same as any other gem, they are capable of doing tasks they haven’t been created for. Pink say’s that in your section of the fleet there were many occasions of gems working outside their intended roles.”

 

“And you want to do that with all gems?” Yellow said. “Just throw everything out the nearest airlock and let everyone do what they want?” Domina frowned at her. 

 

“Don’t over react. There’s already qualifying tests for peridots who want to become kindergarteners. We just... expand that.” She said. 

 

“Well it’s not going to be over night!” Yellow said.

 

“It doesn’t have to be.” Red said quickly “After all the caste system wasn’t always this way.” Yellow paused and after a long moment looked at Red.

 

“Who told you that? You’re far too young to remember before... the empire.” She said. Red blushed and muttered something about doing a lot of reading.

 

“It won’t be done overnight.” Domina agreed, “And there's a lot of existing laws that will need rewritten, or thrown out and replaced but...” She smiled and looked at them collectively. “I assume you all will want a part in that.”

 

“We thought you’d never ask.” Feldspar said. Domina chuckled and looked at Blue, relieved and now visibly, elated, at Yellow, nervous but determined, and then at Pink, relaxed and proud.

 

“I’d hate to do it alone.”


	52. LII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! we're back! the chapter has been beta'd by squish into something a little more readable and we're headed full steam ahead into the first mini arc of this section! Just as a heads up, if you check out the blog you'll see that I will be doing in character Questions for the week of the 9th while I am on a business trip and won't have time to write a full chapter. If you want to go ahead and start sending those in now thats fine, Anonymous asks are on so feel free even if you don't have a tumblr!
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter and see you friday.

 

_ “You will do better, I’m sure of it.”  _ That's what her pearl had said and Yellow Diamond was inclined to trust her opinion. After all, her pearl had seen her at her worst. Something she never liked to think about. Though what constituted as ‘better’ was completely subjective. She hadn’t dissipated everyone in the room and conscripted the remaining gems to go after Blue directly, that was certainly ‘better’. 

 

But she had to admit, though she never would do so out loud, this was all rather impressive. The fact that the New Rebellion had managed to sneak a station out from under their watch. Along with collecting a small but still substantial force. And the fact that this had been going on, from what she could tell, since the beginning of Era 2 was astounding, especially considering they had protocols in place to prevent just this situation. Then again, Yellow thought, they hadn’t even considered the pearls.

 

All of that combined with months in close proximity to Steven’s influence and Domina’s insistence that she ‘behave’, meant that Yellow Diamond was at least going to try to accept all of this change.

 

That and the image of Blue trying to deal with insurgents alone was hysterical.

 

“Forest has been the one taking care of the main systems,” The overcooked feldspar explained as she led them through down into the utility center of the base. “She’s uh,” Feldspar hesitated in front of a door and looked between her and Domina. “A little... rough around the facets.”

 

“Well, we can take that.” Domina said, nudging Yellow. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes. Domina had been as upbeat as usual but Yellow could tell that she was making a concerted effort to be polite.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure you can,” Feldspar said with a grin that, to her credit, only faded slightly when she glanced at Yellow. Feldspar opened the door to reveal an empty, cavernous room. She sighed and stepped in with Domina and Yellow following her. “Forest? Are you in here?” She called. Yellow Diamond inspected the nearby systems. Everything was neat and orderly but she could see that the repairs made to some of them had clearly just been done with whatever materials had been available at the time. 

 

“Our latest arrivals had a few questions about the gravity regulator.” The feldspar continued. Yellow Diamond looked away from the atmospheric stabilizer to see that a pearl had appeared from the high ceiling and was now looking at them upside down, not even bothering to drop to the floor. Her gem was over her right eye and her hair stuck out in a way that reminded her of a report she had read of the emerald who had been over the Sun Incinerator losing her pearl.

“I told you. I. Am. Working. On. It.” The pearl, Forest, said through gritted teeth. She glared at the trio, not even blinking when her one eyed gaze passed over Yellow. 

 

“Can I offer some help?” Domina asked calmly. Forest frowned and dropped a little lower, swinging so that she was still hanging from the ceiling, but was upright. 

 

“And just who are you?” Forest asked.

 

“She’s uh-” Feldspar started, Forest glared at the bigger gem.

 

“I didn’t ask you.” She said. Yellow Diamond snorted slightly in surprise, that certainly wasn’t the personality you expected from a pearl. The sound drew Forest’s gaze to Yellow Diamond, where she frowned a little more before turning back to Domina. “Oh, you’re Pink’s... thing.” She said. 

 

“That I am.” Domina said smiling. Yellow Diamond sighed, would it kill Domina to keep at least a little decorum?

 

“Hm.” Forest said. “I thought you’d be taller.”

 

“I get that a lot, anything I can do to help?” Domina asked. Yellow noticed that Feldspar had relaxed slightly. Forest frowned and inspected Domina for a moment.

 

“I suppose.” She said, climbing back up into the ceiling. “But don’t touch anything!” Domina grinned and hopped up to the support that Forest had been clinging to a moment before. She turned to offer Yellow a hand.

 

“Oh no!” Forest said reappearing and shooting both Diamonds a toxic glare. “Just you!”. Letting Domina go off with a strange and ill tempered pearl was not something Yellow had been planning on. And she definitely was not going to be sassed by some insolent pearl.

 

“Yellow...” Domina said cautiously. Yellow Diamond snapped back to the present and realized that electricity was flitting across her balled fingers and the bottom of her jacket. Right. Doing better.

 

“Fine.” She said dissipating the remaining arcs, “Try not to blow up the station.” She muttered before walking out. Feldspar quickly followed and then looked at her awkwardly. 

 

“Um... well.” Feldspar said looking around as if a topic of conversation would appear out of thin air. Yellow Diamond sighed.

 

“Is there still a Diamond carrel on board?” She asked

 

“Oh yeah, it’s-”

“I know where it is.” Yellow Diamond said impatiently, “I’ve been here before.” Though not to this point in space particularly, this particular station had been moved several times, it was old, almost as old as she was.

 

“Oh... ok, well um.” Feldspar rubbed her arm awkwardly. “Red said that there was some information on the diamond computer she couldn’t access.”

 

“Probably just some of White’s old notes” Yellow Diamond said dismissively, already headed for the carrel. “I’ll take a look at them.”

 

***

Mauve had taken up residence in the lowest level of the station. In place of her chisel and hammer she had somehow procured an engraving tool. Blue Pearl stepped into the spacious room with White and Garnet. Mauve as per usual, was above them, delicately carving into the surface of the metal. 

 

“Possibilities are beginning to connect.” She said from above. Blue glanced around at the carvings, she had never been able to understand Mauve’s carvings when she had seen them before. And now was no different, though in the better light she was able to pick out patterns that sprawled, ended and collided, all heading towards a central, and still uncarved area.

 

“What do these mean?” White asked, peering at the nearest ones closely. Mauve hummed for a moment in thought.

 

“They are... the trails and trickles that our actions make.” Mauve said, she settled on the ground and walked to where White was standing. “A peridot attempts to smuggle out a pearl due for processing and because of it a tower explodes.” She said indicating on multiple branching section. “A diamond chooses mercy over the law and triggers a schism with no end in sight.” She briefly tapped another, then paused over an unfinished section. “A gem gives up her form to create a new being and those she left behind deal with the consequences of things left unsaid.” There was silence. 

 

“Do you see where our current actions are trailing?” Blue asked in an attempt to break it. Garnet was also now looking at the carvings, Blue wondered if she would have any more luck.

 

“Some, we will not be here as long as we think.” Mauve said nonchalantly. 

 

“Why?” Blue said, they were still weeks, if not months from being close to being able to take the fight to Homeworld. 

 

“I’m not sure.” Mauve said, she gestured to the large uncarved area. “I do not yet have all the players involved.”

 

“More on their way?” White asked.

 

“Mmmm... perhaps.” Mauve said. 

 

“Future vision is often inaccurate, no matter the source or form.” Garnet said. “We will simply have to be alert.”    

 

***

After the meeting, Pink headed back to the atrium with Blue to find that not much had changed. Blue left soon after with Garnet and White.

 

“Where’d Domina go?” Zee asked.

 

“To take a look at the gravity systems.” Pink said, she hoped that Forest wouldn’t be too... difficult.

 

“Did my Diamond go with her?” Yellow asked, watching after Blue as she left. 

 

“She did, any change he-” Pink began, she was interrupted by a voice from the entrance of the hanger.

 

“Moss Agate, your shards are still in service? I would have thought you would have been considered outdated centuries ago.” Heliodor 4KV said, walking with her hands clasped behind her back. Pink frowned, nearly as much as Mossy did.

 

“Heliodor, I wasn’t aware you had escaped the secondary fleet.” Mossy said evenly.

 

“I was in transit at the time, along with 6CS and the Rubies.” Heliodor said, “I assume if you are here then our brilliant Diamond must not be far behind.”

 

“You know she hates it when you call her that.” Zee said lazily from her position leaning against the ship with 9NY and Lapis, watching Peridot 5XG bicker with the rest of her column.

 

“Well some of us have a sense of decorum, quartz.” Heliodor said.

 

“Yeah and some of us remember to wipe our hands after polishing someone’s gem.” Zee said. There was a audible intake of breath from Holly Blue Agate.

 

“How dare you talk to a superior like that you insubordinate-”

 

“Hey, you’re not my Agate. Step off.” Zee said shooting Holly Blue a glare. Heliodor rolled her eyes.

 

“Really, being raised around gems like these there’s no surprise our diamond is...” Heliodor began.

 

“Is what?” Pink asked sharply. Heliodor jumped and gaped at her. 

 

“Is...” Heliodor said before glancing at the others in the group and realizing they weren’t following her sentiment. “Nothing.”

 

“Well shards,” Zee said. “I was hoping I’d get to see Pinky slash that smug smirk off your face, she’s getting pretty good now that she’s not limited to an ill-gotten blaster.” Pink looked at Zee, puzzled, how in stars’ name had she learned about that?

 

She was distracted by some commotion from the other side of the ship, a conversation between Steven, Connie, and the Gems from the beta kindergarten. Something about a jasper.

 

***

Forest’s setup for the gravity controls was... interesting to say the least, it took Domina roughly and hour to figure out where exactly the problem was and then another two to find a part that could replace the tertiary graviton coil that kept flickering in and out of synch with the rest of the stations rotational matrix. But, by the end of it Domina was able to walk steadily out of the utility room. Forest hadn’t said much as they worked, other than debate the merits of unobtanium over traditionally crystal grown materials. She seemed fairly nice though, if a bit awkward. Though that was to be expected, she supposed.

 

Sodalite’s pearl was waiting outside the ship when Domina wandered back to the hanger to eat something and get some sleep. Domina smiled.

 

“Hello. You don’t have to just hang around here you know.” Domina said awkwardly, she knew that Sodalite’s pearl had been following around Yellow Pearl, but she was nowhere in sight.

 

“I... am aware Your Brilliance.” Sodalite’s pearl said with a bow. Domina shifted uncomfortably.

 

“Please don’t call me that.” She said for what was probably the hundredth time in three days. “It’s just Domina. Do you have a name?” 

 

“I... no Your... White Diamond, an individual designation has never been necessary, and to be entirely frank, I see no reason why it should be now.” the pearl said.

 

“Well there are quite a few other pearls here.” Domina pointed out. Sodalite’s pearl simple blinked at her, and Domina sighed.

 

“Well, your decision.” She said. “I am sorry about your sodalite.” The pearl looked at her startled, and after a long moment, simply nodded. 

 

“From what I understand of your current plans, it was unavoidable.”

 

“Well, that's a good way of putting it anyway.” Domina said simply. She wish she had more experience with pearls, this one seemed incredibly closed off. Maybe she was shy? Then again, this had to be a lot to go through in such a short time.

 

“Might I tour the facility, White Diamond?” Sodalite’s pearl asked. 

 

“I’m sure,” Domina said. “You don’t have to ask me for permission, you might find Feldspar or one of the others so you don’t get lost. Though it is very similar to the others.” Sodalite’s pearl nodded and bowed to Domina. “And you don’t have to do that either.” She said. Sodalite’s pearl bit her lip and nodded before slowly leaving the hanger.

 

Domina ate one of the zoo fruits in three bites on her way back to the bedroom. She tried not to dwell too hard on Sodalite’s pearl, they would figure out how to help her soon enough. And she had so many other things on her mind. 

 

The door to the bedroom slid open to reveal Connie and Steven arguing. Which was strange because Domina couldn’t recall ever seeing them argue before. Even stranger was the bubble between them. It was purple, and containing the corrupted gem of a jasper. 

 


	53. LIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what happens when you try to update when your hyped about episodes and trying to get stuff done for work before you leave. sigh. Anyway, lots of fun with this chapter. looking forward to monday now for multiple reasons. Thanks to squish for betaing, the flavor of grammar sins this week was run on sentances. A reminder that the askbox on the blog is open for in character asks, and theres some fun announcements from various characters (ok mostly just the yellow diamond one) on the blog as well.
> 
> Hope you like the chapter! See you next week!

The last time Yellow Diamond had been to the particular station, it had been located in what was now one of Blue’s star systems. Of course it had gone through many changes since then, practically nine thousand years ago. These were definitely not the circumstances she expected to return under. The carrel was largely untouched by the rest of the base, there was even a thin layer of dust on the console. But like the rest of the base, it had been cut off from Homeworld’s computer system, which was intelligent, and not something most people would have thought of. Yellow had to give Red credit for that.

 

There was still a lot of information on the carrel’s console though. Records of the area, an outgoing transmission requesting for backup when fighting, and various logs from the previous gems in charge of the station.  And then, buried in the back of the data core, were notes from White, old, old notes from before they had first emerged. She almost didn’t dare to open them and was saved from having to worry about it by the door to the carrel opening.

 

“The frick is this?” Amethyst asked, walking in unprompted. Yellow Diamond sighed and looked down at the other gem.

 

“It’s a diamond console. Must you just barge in?”

 

“Yeah, was trying to figure out where you were hiding. Yelp was wondering where you were.” Amethyst wandered around the cramped interior before hopping up onto a ledge next to her.

 

“Yelp?”

 

“Yellow Pearl. What are you doing in here?” Amethyst asked, she had stretched an eyeball grotesquely to look over Yellow’s shoulder. Yellow Diamond batted it away.

 

“Nothing of consequence. Must you nickname my pearl? I doubt she approves.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“Eh, gotta do somethin’.” Amethyst shrugged, then hesitated. Yellow frowned, what awkward question was going to press at emotions she didn’t want to deal with today? “So about Jasper?”

 

Shards.

 

“Which jasper?” Yellow asked evenly. Since the Stevima incident, other than a brief synopsis about what the perfect quartz had been up to in the months preceding her bubbling, they hadn’t discussed Jasper.

 

“Oh come on, you know which jasper!” Amethyst said, rolling her eyes. Yellow Diamond sighed.

“What about her?” She said, dismissing the screen and turning to face Amethyst directly. Six months ago, she wouldn’t have bothered. She didn’t even look up from her screen when dealing with Domina half the time. What was wrong with her?

 

“So what, you just took her post-war? The betas said they thought she had gotten shattered.” Amethyst said.

 

“Why would we shatter a perfectly good quartz?” Yellow asked, “What part of ‘resource shortage’ don’t you gems understand?”

 

“Well what else are they supposed to think when one of their family just disappears!”

 

“Gems don’t have family.”

 

“Yeah bullshit, I dunno what else you’d call me and Steven and Garnet and Pearl. Or heck, whatever you and Domina and Blue have got goin on.” Amethyst said as she was pacing restlessly.

 

“What does this even matter? It’s not as if she’s here, or even fully functioning,” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“It doesn’t matter, they still deserve to know.”

 

“No they-” Yellow cut herself off. “Well they know now I’m sure, and I’m positive Steven has decided that he’ll be the one to return her to her proper state.”

 

“Did she know?” Amethyst asked.

 

“Did she know what?”

 

“That her fam was still alive.” Amethyst had crossed her arms.

 

“No, it would have distracted her from adjusting to peacetime.” Yellow Diamond said. She also folded her arms and stared down Amethyst. That was enough of this conversation. Amethyst stared back at her unflinchingly.

 

“That’s janked.”

 

“I have no clue what that means.” Yellow said flatly. Amethyst growled and threw her hands in the air.

 

“Do you actually care about any of them? Any of us?” She shouted. Yellow Diamond seethed, she could feel sparks dancing at her fingertips. How dare this insignificant runt speak to her this way!

 

“Why should I? Do you know how many gems I’ve seen ground to dust? How many I’ve shattered with my own hand? How many I have simply seen break during their normal task?” Yellow said. She slammed her hand into the chair arm and the sparks fizzled out harmlessly. “I cannot afford to care! I cannot afford to left myself wallow in grief over gems who may last no more than a millennium or two! I can’t... I-” Yellow Diamond covered her face with one hand and turned in her seat, opening up the console again. “Just get out, Amethyst,” She said. “Please.”

 

She could hear the door open behind her.

 

“You’re a coward, t’s not like we don’t care, you big dork.” Amethyst said before the door closed and Yellow let her now damp hand drop from her face. She wiped it on the edges of her jacket and went back to work.

 

***

Domina had heard of ‘The Perfect Quartz’ before, a gemetically perfect jasper that emerged mid-war, ready for battle. She had seen her detailed gemetic sequence on Homeworld while Yellow tried to give her a more standard grounding in kindergarten implantation. And she had heard from Steven, Peridot, and Amethyst more about the gem’s personality and actions leading up to her corruption.

 

“Why exactly did you bring her along, Steven?” Domina asked, that seemed to be the only applicable question at this moment.

 

“Well... I thought we could maybe heal her and she could meet the betas again.” Steven said uncomfortably.

 

“Steven, we can’t just let her out on the base, someone could get hurt!” Connie said, rubbing her temples with both hands.

 

“And you said we would wait to heal any more gems.” Domina pointed out.

 

“Well we’ll be careful!” Steven said. “You guys keep saying how we need all the help we can get.”

 

“But she’s not going to be help, Steven! She’s tried to kill us, she’s tried to kill you multiple times!”

 

“Because she thought I was mom and that mom shattered Pink Diamond.” Steven said. “We know she didn’t though!”

 

Domina looked between the two of them then back at the suspended gem. There was the other one too, the Bismuth that wasn’t corrupted.

 

“And you didn’t tell anyone that you brought them along?” Domina asked.

 

“No I just...” Steven stopped and his face fell. “Oh, you know.”

 

“She knows?” Connie asked looking between them. “About what?” Steven pulled out the other bubble and let them hang together side by side.

 

“I brought Bismuth too... I just thought,” He said and then sighed and looked at Domina. “She shouldn’t be bubbled, she should know about this, she should have a chance to see that you guys are just like everyone else.” By ‘You guys’, Domina assumed he meant Diamonds, she had heard the story about this Bismuth.

 

Connie sighed and balled her hands into her forehead, covering her face.

 

“This... this is just too much Steven. We can’t solve all of these problems at once.” Connie said, she looked overwhelmed, and Domina had a feeling it wasn’t just about the bubbled gems.

 

“Why don’t we wait,” Domina said evenly, “And talk to the gems about this, at least to let Blue know.” Steven stared at the bubbles and sighed before gingerly collecting the bubbles and moving them back to where they had been under his bed.

 

“Fine.” He said. Domina sighed with relief, though really, this was just another problem to put off until later.

 

She emerged from the ship a few hours later with a less foggy brain. She had been alone when she had woken up, though both bubbles were still where Steven had put them. Connie’s sword was gone though which was... a little disturbing but Domina decided to ignore it. She probably wouldn’t get into any trouble with it. Lapis was laying on top of the ship, but otherwise the hanger was empty.

 

“Where did all the peridots go?” Domina asked. Lapis looked over and shrugged.

 

“Somewhere in the base, something about some robonoids and limb enhancer diagnostics, I wasn’t really paying attention that much.”

 

“Ah.” Domina said. Then after a moment’s hesitation, she jumped on top of the ship next to Lapis.

 

“Need something?” Lapis asked.

 

“Not particularly. Are you alright? I don’t know if you and Sodalite were close or-” Domina began, Lapis cut her off with a laugh.

 

“No, no we weren’t.” Lapis said after she finished. “We were just court gems and you know how that is.”

 

“Not really,” Domina said. “I stay away from Homeworld as much as possible.”

 

“Oh.” Lapis said. For a moment Domina thought she would have to press if she wanted any more information. “Well, court sucks.” She said. “It’s just flaunting and putting on airs to prove that you’re better than everyone.”

 

“I can see why you prefer Earth.” Domina said.

 

“Yeah, now at least... before...” Domina could feel the tension fall on the blue gem instantly.

 

“What... what were you doing there anyway?” She asked hesitantly. There was another pause.

 

“A job,” Lapis said finally. “I terraformed the beta kindergarten after Homeworld just _had_ to have reinforcements.” She glanced quickly at Domina but then relaxed when Domina showed no sign of anger.

 

“Terraforming in a warzone is dangerous.” She said. They wouldn’t even dare to do that these days. Lapises and others were difficult to make before the war, nearly impossible now.

 

“Yeah, you don’t need to tell me that.” Lapis said lowly. “But it was all gems on the ground. Everyone was expected to pitch in over one colony.” She shook her head. “I should have never been there. I’m a civilian!”

 

“Just because you’re not built for fighting doesn’t mean you can’t,” Domina said with a slight smile. It instantly disappeared when she saw the stony glare on the terraformers face.

 

“I am not a weapon.” Lapis said darkly. “I’m not something that's going to be trapped into fighting another war for someone.”

 

“I... understand.” Domina said, she was deeply aware of the fact that her body was 75% water. “And you shouldn’t have to, unless you want to.” Lapis nodded, then hopped off the ship.

 

“I will help though, Steven asked me too, but I’m here for him and Peridot, not you or Yellow Diamond.” She said.

 

“Good.” Domina said, “Steven’s a better reason than us.”

 

***

Sodalite’s pearl wasn’t used to being so noticed. Normally when she walked around a base unaccompanied, other gems assumed she was on an errand of some sort and left her alone. In the several hours since she left the hanger she had been stopped countless times by various gems, not asking what she was doing but simply wanting to introduce themselves. It was ridiculous, though... if pressed she might admit that it was nice to have people actually notice her.

 

When she returned to the hangar, the human had emerged carrying a quartz-sized sword. It frankly, looked ridiculous in her hands.

 

“Why would he even consider that was a good idea?” The human muttered to herself. “A corrupted gem? Nevermind the fact that it's-” She paused when she noticed Sodalite’s pearl staring at her from the entrance. “Oh. Hey!” She said. Sodalite’s pearl nodded to her. She hadn’t quite decided whether the human was worth engaging with. “Uh so... Zee said there was a practice room around here somewhere. Did you see it while you were walking around?”

 

“It is two floors below, third door on the left.” Sodalite’s Pearl said. The human nodded.

 

“Thanks,” She said with a smile before walking off. A corrupted gem? Sodalite’s pearl had of course heard of the Diamond attack on Earth, but what would one of the corrupted traitors be doing here? She thought for a moment, then entered the ship and immediately ducked behind a chair as White Diamond came into view. The hybrid seemed inattentive and yawned before exiting the ship. She could hear voices outside, a conversation between Lapis Lazuli and White Diamond but eventually both left and it became apparent that they wouldn’t be returning.

 

Despite the size of the ship, it didn’t take long for her to find the two bubbles underneath a soft platform in what she had deduced were White Diamond's chambers that she was allowing the other two organics to make use of. One had a bismuth in it which would not cause the chaos that she wanted. The other though... a jasper.

 

That could cause some damage.


	54. LIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I wonder why I even bother trying to update on new episode days, I am sorry for this late chapter but it is beta'd by squish (and it sorely needed it) and there will be another on Friday, which I need to start like yesterday... If you interested you can start sending in character asks to the blog.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter, see you friday

There were around two hundred of them on board the base. This was more than there had been before Blue Diamond’s purge of the empire but still small in comparison to what they were up against. Pink Pearl took the time to at least lay eyes and say hello to most of them. Domina of course was right behind her, as always she was excited to meet new gems, and to reconnect with the members of the secondary fleet. Heliodor didn’t make eye contact with Pink, and she tried not to look too smug about it. 

 

White had been busy as well. She had gathered a large group consisting of mostly pearls into the base’s practice room. Some had already experimented with fighting or summoning weapons and it was clear to Pink that White was in her element helping them along. Connie for once wasn’t at her side but instead had wrangled 9ZQ into sparing with her. 

 

“Nice!” Zee said, pushing Connie out of the block between their swords. “You’re what? Thirteen?” Zee asked.

 

“Fourteen.” Connie said with a grunt, leaping at the quartz with her sword.

 

“Well nice,” 9ZQ sidestepped her. “The Pebble wasn’t half this good at 28.” Pink Pearl looked to where Domina had been, expecting her to have some sort of retort to that. The Diamond was gone though. Moments later, there was a chilling roar, a scream, and the ceiling shuddered above them. White paused mid sentence and looked up at the ceiling with wide eyes. Zee lowered her sword, along with a suddenly stunned Connie.

 

“What was that?” Zee asked.

 

****

Blue Pearl had been expecting a certain amount of issues to arise after they had taken in the gems fleeing her- Blue Diamond’s purge. There had been a few, some gems who thought that they shouldn’t have to listen to a bunch of off colors and pearls, who were quickly informed that if they were going to cause trouble they could join the gems bubbled in the atrium.

 

There were technical problems with the base, nothing new but Domina had said that she and Yellow Diamond would work on fixing them. White had taken over training, Red had been introduced to the skinny jasper, and together, they were attempting to gather more information about what exactly Blue Diamond was doing.

 

This, she hadn’t expected at all.

 

“Let me get this straight.” Blue Pearl said, rubbing her temples. “You brought a corrupted gem and didn’t tell anyone, and now she’s somehow loose on the base?”

“Yeah...” Steven said, rubbing his arm. “I don’t know how it happened! The bubble made it all the way here without getting popped!”

 

“Steven...” White groaned.

 

“I just wanted to try to help her, but we weren’t going to let her out yet!” Steven said. 

 

“That doesn’t matter now.” Garnet said. “We have to find her before someone gets hurt.”

 

“Would she remember us?” Carnelian asked. White shook her head.

 

“Most likely not... they... they don’t remember.” She said, then glanced at Steven. “Not at first anyway.”

 

“Frack.” Skinny muttered Carnelian put a comforting hand on her leg.

 

“She was just recently corrupted though...” Steven said hopefully, “So maybe she might?” Blue Pearl didn’t know which would be worse. 

 

“Well, we need to split up.” Domina said. “Presumably, she can’t go on the elevator, so that means that she’s-”

 

“Domina,” Garnet said, cutting her off. Domina’s mouth slammed shut and she looked at Garnet. Garnet looked at Blue Pearl, and so did Domina. Everyone else's eyes began to turn to her and then Blue realized that they were looking to her. Oh.

 

“That...That means she’s probably still on the central level,” Blue said after a beat. Garnet nodded encouragingly. “Pink, let Red know that the base needs to go into lock down, Connie, White, Garnet, Amethyst, and myself will head that way.” She pointed one way down the corridor. “Steven, Domina, Skinny, and Carnelian, head the other way. we should be able to meet in the middle, or at least trap her between us.” Everyone nodded and they split up.

 

“I’m sorry, Ma’am,” Connie said to White almost the moment they were out of earshot of the other group. “I should have said something the moment Steven told me about the bubbled gems”

 

“It’s quite alright, Connie. I’m sure Steven meant no harm when he-” White paused. “Wait, gems?”

 

****

 

“I swear I didn’t let her out!” Steven said as they walked through the hallway on high alert. Domina was sticking to the rear as all four of them had drawn their weapons. Carnelian and Skinny both gave him the mildly annoyed look of gems who had done countless patrols dealing with a day old ruby.

 

“I believe you, Steven.” Domina said evenly. “We’ll worry about what happened later. I’m not blaming you.” 

 

“But how did-” Steven started before stopping the moment Carnelian held up her hand. There was a clatter up ahead in one of the auxiliary hangars. Skinny and Domina immediately took up positions opposite sides of the hangar. Carnelian moved next to Skinny and Steven next to Domina. There was more rattling and Skinny held up her fingers for a moment before gesturing for them to move. As a nearly cohesive group, they turned the corner, only to find the hangar empty, except for Sodalite’s pearl perched on top of one of the transport ships.

 

Domina sighed with relief. “What are you doing up there?” She called, walking towards the ship. Sodalite’s pearl scrambled back from the edge.

 

“Oh, oh Your Brilliance, I... there was a monster and I thought I could get away from it but I-” 

 

“Did you see where she went?” Skinny interrupted. Sodalite’s pearl stared at her for a moment before pointing off further down the hallway.  The two quartzes began to head towards the door. Steven though, hopped up on the ship and offered the pearl a hand.

 

“You really should get somewhere safe,” Domina said. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of the corrupted gem.” Sodalite stared at both of them then nodded.

 

“Yes of course, thank you, Your Bril-”

 

“Domina, and Steven’s the one that pulled you down.” Domina said quickly, she did not need a pearl following her.

 

“Right,” Sodalite’s pearl said evenly, nodding to Steven.

 

“Come on you two, move it!” Carnelian shouted from the hangar door.

 

“So, what was she like?” Steven asked softly as they continued along the hallway. There were two scrape marks running parallel along the ceiling and periodically scrape marks on the floor.

 

“Who, Tiny?” Skinny asked. Steven chuckled.

 

“That’s funny, ‘cause she’s so big?” Steven asked. 

 

“...what?” Carnelian asked. “Nah it’s cause her gem’s small.” She said, patting her own nose. Steven looked puzzled and Domina shrugged.

“It’s the only part that matters.” She said.

 

“During the war, she was brave, kept the few of us that are still around from getting ground in with the sand at Beta.” Skinny continued. “After that... I dunno.” They had reached a section of the base where the lights began to flicker.

 

“We’ll have to check the electricity down here.” Domina muttered absentmindedly.

 

“Is that really important right now-” Carnelian began only to be shushed, this time by Skinny. Ahead, there were grumbles and growls that sounded like they came from a creature far bigger than any of them put together.

 

They slowed, almost to a crawl, and carefully edged around the corner to where the elevator let out. The corrupted gem was mottled green and orange and yellow with two enormous horns where eyes should be. Steven gulped and Domina was careful not to shake.

 

There were more footsteps, and from the other side, Domina could see Garnet holding up a hand to stop her group.

 

Domina held up a hand and then let it fall and both sides moved in for the attack. The corrupted gem between them roared and lunged at Garnet, swiping with massive paws. Garnet dived out of the way, pummeling the underside of the beast with her gauntlets. Roaring, the gem moved on Connie, stopping when Steven lept towards her and threw up a bubble. Skinny charged forward, lance down. The monster paused. Skinny stopped in her tracks.

 

“What are you waiting for?” Domina shouted.

 

“Hold on.” Skinny said. The corrupted gem growled and snarled at her but didn’t attack as Skinny moved closer.

 

“Careful.” White said warningly. Blue held her axe defensively but Amethyst held up her hand.

 

“Nah, nah, she’s got this.” Amethyst said.

 

“Shards,” Skinny said, carefully reaching a hand towards the corrupted gem. Jasper growled and snarled. “What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into, Tiny?” The Jasper stopped, and carefully, her haunches began to lower and Skinny ran a hand through the quartz’s mane.

 

“That is... unexpected.” Garnet said, adjusting her visor. “Steven, try healing her the way she is now.” Steven nodded seriously and took a few steps forward. Behind Domina, the door to the elevator opened. She turned and saw Yellow Diamond pause in the doorway.

 

“What the-” Yellow began, already raising a hand. Domina reacted a second too late.

 

“Wait! Don’t-!” She said seconds before a bolt of lightning dissipated the corrupted quartz. Skinny scrambled to catch the gem before it fell but once she had a hold on it, her surprise turned to rage as she turned to Yellow Diamond.

 

“You.”


	55. LV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello, I hope everyone has been enjoying the Steven Bomb, I know I have been! This is the last chapter to go up before I take a week off for my work trip, It did not entirely go as planned but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Just as a reminder, if you go over to the blog I'll be taking in character questions while I'm gone, PLEASE send me some, I'll need something to pull me out of the boredom that is work. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, enjoy tonight's episode, and I hope you like what comes next.
> 
> See you in a week.

Corruption was a weapon intended to work without being used. White had proposed it after centuries of her own research into exactly how far a gems base programming could be modified. They used it first on a colony planet of White’s, one that had dared to privatize and reject their carefully made plans for it. It was hard for Yellow to forget the raw power that first time. The feeling, not only of relieving gems of their form but of setting a precedent. The feeling of drawing a line to show the lengths they would go to to keep the authority in check.

 

Even now she didn’t know how she felt about that feeling.

 

But as always, she had learned to tamp that feeling down and keep it from interfering with her work, with progress.

 

The threat of corruption kept distant colonies in line, kept gems afraid of their power. As if normal gems need anymore reason to be afraid. Of course, that did seem to stop the off color jasper from throwing herself at her.

 

“You took her from us!” she shouted, rushing at her with her summoned lance. Yellow Diamond stepped to the side, more out of surprise then any attempt to dodge. Skinny spun back to face her immediately. “If she had been with us this would have never happened!” Yellow Diamond didn’t bother to summon her weapon. Lightning arced from her fingers but the jasper ducked out of the way and lunged at her.

 

“Skinny, No!” the carnelian cried, she tried to grab Skinny’s arm but the enraged gem kicked her off.

 

“Yellow, stop!” Steven shouted. Domina took a more direct approach flinging herself at Yellow Diamond. Yellow shoved her off, too angry to think.

 

“She would have been wasted on that station!” Yellow Diamond snarled. Another blast of lightning was set loose, arcing just above Skinny’s head. Yellow hissed as the edge of her coat was pierced by the tip of the lance.

 

“We would have been together!” Skinny said, she was less successful in dodging the next volley of energy, it pierced her foot but still wasn’t enough to dissipate her form. “She wouldn’t have been alone! You’re the monster here, not her!”

 

Yellow stopped abruptly and Skinny took advantage of the opening in her defenses to lunge forward, aiming for her middle. Yellow threw up her hands, sending lightning crackling from floor to ceiling in front of her. Suddenly, she felt her body hit the wall behind her as she was thrown back by a gale of wind. Similarly, across from her Skinny slammed against the opposite wall. Domina now stood between the two of them, holding her arms out.

 

“That’s enough.” She ordered.  

 

“Domina-”

 

“White Dia-”

 

“No!” Domina said firmly. “You both are done, we can not afford to have you two fighting. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past, worry about what's going on now.” She looked at Skinny. “I appreciate the luster you’ve got to even attempt to take on a diamond but, try to channel that into something less likely to make you have to reform.” Skinny frowned but nodded turning away. Domina looked at Yellow. “Think before you act, remember we need to work together.” Yellow Diamond opened her mouth to retort but caught sight of Steven staring at them from the side. She sighed and nodded. Domina lowered her arms and Yellow Diamond pushed herself off the wall. Skinny stared at her for a moment before turning to Steven.

 

“Can you still fix her?” She asked. Carnelian had come over and put a calming hand on Skinny’s lower back.

 

“Yeah, I can try.” Steven said. As if on cue the gem began to glow and reform. Yellow moved to leave, she didn’t need to be around for this. But found that Domina had grabbed the back of her coat. She didn’t look at Yellow, just stared at the reforming gem. Steven licked is palm and touched it to Jaspers gem as her form began to warp into her corrupted state.

 

For a brief moment it looked like it hadn’t worked. The gems form continued to grow to monstrous proportions. But then it stopped, and quickly reverted to something... close to what Jasper had been.

 

When the Perfect Quartz’s form solidified her arms we mottled much like her previous form had been. The horns had moved to her head instead of her eye’s. She dropped to the floor. The tension in the corridor had somehow grown tenser.

 

“Hey sis.” Amethyst said stepping forward. Jasper lurched up, her face was equally as stained with signs of the corruption. What came out of her mouth was something close to words but mostly consisted of growls. She sounded angry.

 

‘Woah, woah” Steven said  “Jasper we’re not here to fight.” The corrupted gem turned her anger on to Steven, not lunging, just growling still.

 

“Oh come on Tiny, he did help you.” Carnelian said. Jasper froze and turned to look at the diminutive quartz in shock.

 

“Hey,” Carnelian said, then gestured up to Skinny who smiled softly.

 

“Long time no see.”

 

***

 

Moss Agate was, other than pearl, the first gem that Domina had any concrete memories of. The memory was of sitting on her lap while Mossy talked to her about... something, Domina still wasn’t sure of the topic. When Pearl was trying to get Domina to stop imitating her way of carrying herself, Domina started copying Mossy and that seemed to be more acceptable. Mossy taught her how a colony should be run, and about the different types of gems and their intended purposes. And then she showed Domina how to spot what people were capable of outside of their purpose, something she still wasn’t great at.

 

But Domina had been well aware for most of her life that Mossy was not your average agate. She knew that there was something else going on in her past that had pushed her into this position. After the fight with Sodalite, after seeing the immutability of Mossy’s memories, Domina was sure of it.

 

She found the Agate in one of the halls that was usually reserved for elites to mingle. She was speaking with the group of peridot’s.

 

“I’m not saying that it’s impossible, but doing so would most likely cause a breach in the exterior hull.” Mossy was saying as Domina approached the group.

 

“But surely that area’s reinforced for this kind of thing.” One of the era 2 peridots, with her gem on her chin, said.

 

“No not on these older models of stations.” 9NY said. “Anything to do with colonization tends to be a few centuries behind Homeworld standards.” Another peridot shuddered.

 

“That sounds horrible. I can’t imagine willingly choosing to be posted with the fleet.”

 

“It’s not so bad.” 9NY said with a shrug, “Getting projects approved is a lot easier, the last request I put in for material to study warp space took under a week to be approved.”  There were cries of outrage amongst the peridots.

 

“I once requested for material to upgrade a ship and it took 3 decades to get approval!” another Peridot said. “And it was an elites ship!”

 

“You think that’s bad?” 5XG cut in. “Try building a drill to travel to a planet’s core with nothing but Era One injectors and pieces of human avionics equipment!”

 

“Yes yes, you’ve talked about the drill enough 5XG,” A peridot with her gem on her hip said waving off 5XG. “We get it, you saved a planet and got the rest of your column on the wrong side of your diamond.”

 

“She is not my diamond anymore!”

 

“You’ve also made that clear you clod!” Said a Peridot with an arm gem.

 

“Moss Agate?” Domina said. Her words sent the conversation to a grinding halt, for the era 2 peridots in standard issue limb enhancers at least. Mossy turned to her with a cocked eyebrow.

 

“A word in private please?”

 

“Of course, My Diamond.” Mossy said. Domina sighed and nodded to the other peridots with a smile.

 

“Pleased to meet you.” She said, there was a flurry of salutes while 9NY and 5XG just rolled their eyes. She and Mossy walked out of earshot from the group.

 

“What is it Domina?” Mossy asked, she didn’t seem nervous, of course Mossy never seemed nervous.

 

“How much do you know about my mother’s.. abilities.” Domina said, nervous. Mossy hesitated in her step for a moment then nodded.

 

“I am aware of her ability to manipulate gem’s memories. I am assuming that you can also do this?” Mossy said stopping and leaning against the wall. Her expression hadn’t changed. Domina nodded.

 

“I can. The power manifested last year.” She said, that was one part of the question done. “When I was fighting Sodalite, I used it as you and Pearl were approaching and...”

 

“And?”

 

“Your memories are locked, they’re unchangeable.” She said then held up her hands. “Not that I was trying to but that isn’t typical, I’ve never had a person I couldn’t affect.” Mossy just stared at her.

 

“Yes, I am aware.” She said. “Is there a question here, My Diamond?” Domina sighed.

 

“But why?” She asked. “How did you do it? Is it teachable?”

 

“Domina,” Mossy said, the edges of her mouth briefly twinged upward. “What do we call gems whose programming differs from the standard?” Domina frowned.

 

“Off colored but you can’t be! You don’t look-”

 

“That doesn’t matter,” Mossy said “Not every difference within a gems programming is readily viewable on the surface. And not every difference is a detriment. When I...” She paused and glanced at Domina, specifically at her forehead. “When I was assigned to your mother’s fleet section she figured out that certain ability didn’t work on me, I thought you knew.” Domina shook her head blinking her eyes in shock.

 

“And... she didn’t have you shattered to cover her trail?” She asked.

 

“She considered it,” Mossy said. “I convinced her that I had proven my worth and ability to keep secrets, so instead she decided to keep me close by.” Domina looked at Mossy for a long moment then shook her head. That answered approximately none of her questions on how to go about fixing the damage her mother had caused.

 

“Well... I guess that's good to know, I’m sorry it’s not exactly the answer I was looking for. “ Domina said.

 

“It's rare that anyone ever gets the answer’s they’re looking for with regards to your mother.” Mossy said. “Many of her decisions don’t make sense. But that doesn’t mean that there's not chance of finding answers. Especially where they are not expected.”

 

“That's encouraging.” Domina muttered. “I guess you were lucky she liked you.” Mossy chuckled.

 

“I’m fortunate that she didn’t crush me on the spot for arguing against my own shattering.”


	56. LVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god so so so late. Hello everyone, I am back but life and worked piled on top of me and so this chapter got written late. I loved the new episodes! I hope you did too! Anyway Squish beta'd this chapter at the late hour so it could get out on monday, er.. atleast for me.
> 
> I hope it was worth the wait!
> 
> I'll see you all friday

Sodalite's pearl had been trying to cause chaos. Not... whatever this was. She stood behind the edge of a door that opened into a multipurpose room on the central level of the base. Inside were the off colors from the zoo, the corruption, and the quartz hybrid. The quartz hybrid, Steven, was making crude drawings with a piece of dried plant material and some kind of pink marking instrument. 

 

“Ok so you remember me and Amethyst and Skinny and Carnelian.” He said, turning the picture towards the gargantuan corrupted gem. The monster looked at the picture with something that was close to disdain and then  glared at Steven and growled out something. Steven frowned and then handed her another piece of the material he was drawing on and an orange marker. The diminutive amethyst spotted Sodalite's pearl and grinned widely. Sodalite's pearl took a reflexive step back, as any pearl with any sense would.

 

“Sup Sodes?” She asked. Sodalite's pearl frowned, confused, and stepped fully into the room as the attention shifted to her.

 

“Sodes?” She asked baffled, unsure of any other way to answer.

 

“Yeah, sayin’ Sodalite's pearl, is long and kind of whack.” Amethyst said, practically lying down. She saw Carnelian mouth “whack?” to Skinny questioningly, who shrugged. Sodalite's pearl frowned and chose to ignore the amethyst, instead turning to Steven, who at least seemed to be mostly sensible. Besides, the other two diamonds had to hold him in regard for some reason.

 

“What exactly are you doing?” She asked. Steven smiled.

 

“Trying to get Jasper’s memories in order, to help her remember who she was.” He said. Sodalite's pearl hazard a glance at the corruption who glare back at her. 

 

“Come on Tiny, be nice,” Carnelian said. Strangely enough, the corrupted gem rolled her eyes intelligently and muttered under her breath in something that could almost approximate words.

 

“Why? You can’t fix corruption... She’s a monster.” Sodalite’s pearl said. The jasper next to her nodded.

 

“No.” Steven said firmly and pointed at Jasper. “You’re not a monster.” Jasper rolled her eyes again and growled out something that sounded like someone speaking in a mocking tone. Steven then turned to look at Sodalite’s pearl directly. “Me and Domina already uncorrupted three gems, so it can be done.” He smiled. “It just takes a little time.”

 

***

Gems didn't need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe. Technically, they didn't even need gravity. But all the systems that kept Domina alive were still considered to be essential. Oh sure, the air composition might vary from base to base, the gravity regulation may be higher or lower depending on the mood of the technician, but they were still reliably present. Water systems were a different story, not all stations used water as a coolant. 

 

Coincidentally enough this one did. Of course nothing had been done with it in almost five thousand years. 

 

“Try it now!” Domina shouted from her position among the piping. There was the sound of water rushing and then it stopped suddenly.

 

“No!” Forrest called back. Domina sighed and shimmied down a length of pipe, letting go and letting the air hold her up for a few moments while she strained against another rusted valve.

 

“How about now?” She called. There was more rumbling, a few pops and some high pitched whining as a sensor was tripped.

 

“No! No, shut it off!” Forrest said quickly. Domina did so then dropped down.

 

“Did it over-pressurize?” She asked. Forrest was inspecting the hub of the water processor.

 

“You actually caused a vacuum,”

 

“Shards.” Domina muttered.

 

“What are you  _ doing _ ?” Yellow Diamond said. Forrest leapt nearly to the ceiling before turning.

 

“What are you doing in here?!” The pearl snapped. Yellow Diamond blinked at her and rolled her eyes.

 

“I apologize for interrupting your clandestine meeting on...” She glanced behind them. “Water processor maintenance?” Domina could see Forrest already seething and stepped between them.

 

“Actually, we’re trying to figure out what’s wrong with it, care to take a look?” She said. Forrest sputtered and Domina smiled at her placatingly. Yellow Diamond raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you working on this, don’t you have anything more important to do?” She asked. Domina pursed her lips but shook her head.

“Not particularly. And if this works, we can hook the ship up to the base’s main water supply and save the filters.” She said. Yellow Diamond sighed and looked at the ceiling. “Anyway,” Domina continued hesitantly. “Don’t you ever just want to fix something yourself? It’s fun.”

 

Yellow Diamond glanced at her for a moment, then reached towards the pipes. 

 

“You need to open both valves at the same time. This model hasn’t been in use in thousands of years.”  She said. Domina smiled and hopped into the air towards the other valve.

 

“Alright, ready Forrest?” Domina asked.

 

“Yes.” Forrest said. 

 

“Turn.” Domina said, turning her valve. There was a rush of water that continued along as Yellow turned hers. Domina glanced down and saw Forrest smile as the gauges began rising.

 

“It’s good!” She shouted before the pipe Domina clung to burst.

 

“Turn it off! Turn it off!!” Yellow shouted. Domina sputtered against the jet of water, trying to reach the off valve before the water finally stopped. Domina fell to the floor, rolling through the 4 inches of water that was slowly making its way to the drain. She was soaked, her hair sticking to her face, she glanced over to see Forrest standing by the main water valve by the door. The pearl’s face was a mixture of alarm, horror, and amusement. Domina looked to her other side and saw Yellow Diamond staring at her in shock, also completely soaked through, her hair, plastered to her face.

 

“I thought it was a helmet.” Forrest said breaking the silence. Domina burst into laughter, falling back into the puddle of water.  Yellow Diamond simply rolled her eyes and extended a hand to Domina, with a small smile playing on her lips. 

 

“See,” She said, taking her hand with a grin. “It’s fun.”

 

***

Irritatingly enough, Yellow Diamond found that Domina was right. After they fixed the burst pipe, the younger diamond retired for the day, leaving Yellow with a wary pearl and the remaining urge to fix something. So she turned her attention to the closed windows lining the corridor. It took her two hours to get them open. 

 

The metal covers over them most likely had not been lifted since the new rebellion took over the base. The gears were twisted and misaligned but, after some careful nudging, reworking, and a vast amount of cursing, the blinds slowly lifted to reveal the cosmos beyond them. 

 

The base lay inside of an asteroid field. But beyond the debris was the inkyness of space, studded with stars that hinted at galaxies and planets and an infinite vastness beyond. Standing on the edge of what the empire knew never failed to make Yellow Diamond feel small. 

 

Of course she knew that they would expand and explore into it, but until then, they had no idea what was out there. It was full of possibilities. It was exhilarating.

 

She didn't know how long she stood there before she realized she wasn’t alone.  However, it wasn’t one of the normal people that had approached her, not Steven, Amethyst, nor Domina. Instead, it was Connie.

 

“Oh um... hello.” She said awkwardly. The girl said nothing for a long moment, just continued staring at the open space.

 

“Do you ever get used to it?” Connie asked.

 

“To what? Space?”

 

“Yeah... I guess” She said.

 

“I... don’t think so. Perhaps Domina has, or perhaps White did.”  Yellow continued. Perhaps that was why she had given up.

 

“It seems like it.” Connie said. “Like everyone has...” Yellow Diamond blinked, was this normally how this human talked?

 

“I suppose as a space faring race it might be... more normal to us?” She said. Connie nodded soberly and shifted the sword to her other shoulder.

 

“Do you know what’s out there? Other aliens?”

 

“Some, but not necessarily in this direction. We don’t know what’s out this far,” Yellow said. She could almost hear the same conversation from thousands of years ago echoing back to her. Actually, this was the fourth time she’d had the conversation about what was out there with someone. Once, with Pink, only half interested on Yellow’s part, as she was more interested in the goings on with her own colonies. Before that, with Blue, her own tone had been superior, so proud of the fact that she had been there longer and knew more than the younger diamond. And long before that she stood together with White, on this very station, bleary eyed and still unsure about her place in the universe.

 

It wasn’t any better now. But it was getting there.

 


	57. LVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Little bit late as always but I was excited about this chapter, stuff happens! important stuff! Thanks to Squish for betaing!
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter! See you Monday!

“They can cure corruption?” Red stared disbelievingly at Yellow Pearl. Yellow Pearl nodded and shifted in her seat. Corruption was a weapon used as a last resort, when the crimes of a colony were so widespread that the diamonds themselves deemed it worthless. It was a threat talked about in shadows, feared by colony governors. Irreversible. 

 

“That’s impossible, we’ve always been told...” Red paused mid-thought and shook her head. 

Yellow Pearl uncomfortably glanced around what had once been the security booth. It had been altered severly, a more comfortable chair dragged in from somewhere, and the screen capacity nearly doubled. Some screens seemed to be relevant, security footage from the base, a feed from homeworlds emergency services, maps of nearby star systems. Others, including what looked to be a live broadcast of a concert hall located on Heliotroth Six, seemed... less relevant.

 

“I don’t think the Diamonds ever looked into whether it could be reversed,” Yellow said finally. 

 

“Why would they?” Red asked. She frowned and rubbed her temples but stopped as the door opened and Blue Pearl strode in. 

 

“I just got done talking to Feldspar,” She said, stopping just next to Yellow Pearl and sitting down, despite the fact that her normal chair was on the other side of the room. “She says that the area just south of the white district is still not being patrolled and may be an access point for us to actually get to Homeworld.”

 

“Any idea on how many?” Yellow asked. Not that it would matter, it wasn’t a question of ‘if’ they would fail, it was just a question of how fast. Red shrugged.

 

“However many The Renegade can pull in,” She said, “So... two hundred if we’re lucky.” 

 

“Against all of the armies of Homeworld.” Yellow sighed.

 

“What’s left of them,” Blue pointed out. Yellow rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to retort as the speaker suddenly began to crackle and let out an ear splitting screech. Red scrambled for the dials and began to adjust them through gritted teeth. As she grumbled about improper equipment interactions the noise reduced to meaningless static and then, a pearl’s voice cut through.

 

“-mega base  seven dot nine three two. This is Jet 6JB transmitting to confirm channel security.” Jet said. Yellow saw Red and Blue both go completely still, their faces lighting up with joy. “I repeat,” The voice continued. “Contacting Omega base seven dot nin-” Red yanked the transmitter to her face and interrupted the transmission.

“Jet!” She said, practically in tears. “Jet, this is Red! We can hear you!” There was more static on the other end and Red began to frantically maneuver the dials again. From the static came a brief burst of feedback, then a form shaking sigh.

 

“Red, what’s the point of the codenames if we’re not going to use them?”

 

***

Milky Quartz 9ZQ was an older gem, older than Pink Pearl. She was a veteran of several colonizations, minor wars, and a member of White Diamonds personal guard. She was a terrifying gem on the battlefield. So the last thing Pink Pearl expected was to open a maintenance room door and see her fall out of it with Peridot 9NY on top of her. 

 

Pink looked at Zee. 

 

Zee stared up at her, mouth open but otherwise still. 9NY glanced between them for a moment before scrambling to her feet and awkwardly settling her eyes on Pink.

 

“I don’t suppose we’ve been subtle.” She said nervously.

 

“Not particularly.” Pink blinked, Zee didn’t make eye contact. “Though I don’t know why your bothering, there's 4 fusions aboard, not counting Garnet and Topaz.” 9NY looked pointedly at Zee who didn’t so much as blush as just turn a slightly darker shade of grey. 

 

“It’s different.” She muttered getting to her feet. “Look just... Don’t tell Domina about this, it’s bad enough Mossy knows.”

 

“Why?” 9NY asked stepping away from Zee. “Zee you know fusion doesn’t bother Domina! We’re in the base of a rebellion led by a bunch of pearls for stars sake!” 9NY paused and turned to Pink. “No offense.”

 

“None... taken?”  Pink said. “Zee, this is Domina you’re talking about. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s figured it out herself already.”

 

The Milky Quartz’s head snapped up and her hand almost instinctually clamped down over her  warped gem.

 

“She doesn’t, and she won’t.” Zee said firmly, giving Pink one of the only serious looks she had ever seen on the quartz’s face. 9NY groaned in irritation.

 

“I don’t understand you, are you ashamed of-”

 

“En, no I’m not” Zee said quickly “Never. I would never be, it’s just I....” Her hand had come away from her arm and was slowly making its way to her mouth, as if to stop her words before they emerged. “I can’t, we can’t,” Zee said, her hand drifting back to her gem. “Not now. I’m sorry.” She turned and started walking quickly down the hall away from them.

 

“Wait, Zee!” 9NY said taking off after her. Pink watched after them for a moment, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of the situation. Then, she felt her hand touch her own elongated gem on her abdomen, the fingers of her mind tapped at the static where her memories should be and she wondered if it was really so ridiculous.

 

***

It took Domina half an hour to convince the undercooked rutile to give her a rematch. It took half an hour of promising that she wasn’t angry. And it took half an hour of insisting that anyone who had managed to knock her to the ground had the right to call her Domina. And it was half an hour of promising that there would be no repercussions if Rutile didn’t pull her punches.

 

Of course all this meant that she doomed herself to being batted across the room by Rutile’s summoned mace.

 

“Well, you lasted longer this time.” The skinny Carnelian said hesitantly, looking down at Domina from her position on her back. Rutile looked on worriedly from the opposite side of the room. 

“Yes, I’m sure I added an entire two seconds to my best time.” Domina said, wincing as she sat up. On the opposite side, Skinny, the other carnelian, and Jasper watched her with faces of varying amusement. “So who’s next?” Domina said, holding her sword out mockingly. “Skinny, want to try another diamond? Then you can take on Blue yourself when we get that far.” Skinny laughed.  

 

“You look like you’ve got your hands full. ‘Sides, we’re busy.” She said, Carnelian piped up.

 

“Yeah, have you seen Steven or 8XM?” She asked. Domina shook her head. 

 

“No, I know Steven’s been with Connie a lot recently.” She said. “And Amethyst was in here earlier with the rest of her column and the peridots.” The Rutile had nervously approached.

 

“White Di- Domina are you alright?” She asked. Domina waved her off.

 

“I’m fine, thank you. Though I am probably done for the day.” She said, twisting her neck to the side and wincing with relief as her vertebrae realigned. All the gems present looked on in horror. “I’ll uh... go look for Steven.” She said.

 

In general, Domina had always liked bases. For her they symbolized extended downtime, loosening of rules, a chance to catch up with gems she had met in the past, and to meet new transfers to the various fleet sections. There was also something great about a space of transition, from one job to the next, from one ending to a new beginning. 

 

Though in some ways this base did feel too familiar. A significant portion of the gems that fled were loyal members of her or Yellow’s courts. And word of who exactly she was travelled fast to those who didn’t already know, which did make talking to unsuspecting rubies rather difficult, and lead to awkward salutes from peridots.

 

“My Diamond!” Heliodor 4KV called from across a room Domina ducked into in her hunt for Steven. It also led to hearing ‘My Diamond’ on a regular basis again.

 

“Heliodor.” Domina said with a nod, stepping back out to the room. The yellow gem followed her. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen Steven?”

 

“Steven?”

 

“He’s half human, about this tall?” Domina said, holding her hand to roughly level with her stomach.

 

“Er, no, My Diamond.” Heliodor said. Domina frowned and turned to leave, only to realize that Heliodor was still following her.

 

“Yes Heliodor?” Domina asked. 

 

“My Diamond, I was wondering if you and Yellow Diamond had a plan as to what happens next.” Heliodor said. Heliodor was roughly a head taller than her but she still had to walk fast to keep pace with Domina. “If I could be privy to such information.” 

 

“Not particularly, we’re waiting on some information from Red and Blue Pearls contacts back on Homeworld, along with dealing with a few... issues, that need taken care of before we can make a move on Homeworld.” Domina said.

 

“You’re putting your trust in these pearls, My Diamond?” Heliodor asked skeptically.

 

“I am, as is Yellow.” Domina said. She turned and looked Heliodor in the eye. The other gem held her gaze before nodding and looking away. 

 

“I see, they have proven in the past to be competent.” Heliodor said.

 

“They have,” Domina said. She opened another door, one that bore signs of having been taken over by the Famethyst. Still no Steven. “Alright,” She said with a sigh. “The ship then.” She turned and nodded to a group of iolites passing by, several of which saluted. Domina held back a sigh.

 

Heliodor eventually left by the time Domina made it to the elevator. She crossed the hangar, eyeing the pile of ancient escape pods and smaller ships. Those would have to be added to the list. If something happened... Domina shook her head. Nothing would happen. They were practically as far from Homeworld as you could get. Blue Diamond had no reason to suspect they were out here. Still, Domina opened the pink ship, it couldn’t hurt to be prepared.

 

“Steven!” She called, stepping in. “Are you here? Skinny was-” She stopped as she stepped onto the bridge of the ship and saw all the Crystal Gems there, including Steven and Connie. And a Bismuth.


	58. LVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I am screaming about this latest episode, on so so so many levels. but I still managed to get this chapter done earlier than the last few. which really doesn't say much... anyway, I hope you like this chapter, Squish is out this week so you will have to suffer through the chapters unbeta'd. Hopefully it's not too bad.
> 
> See you friday!

Diamonds always brought tension with them, after all gems had been programmed to respect and fear them. Domina noticed the sudden elevation in tension the moment the rest of the room turned to her. Amethyst and Pearl warily looked from Bismuth to her then back to the Bismuth. Steven smiled uneasily in a way that told Domina this wasn’t exactly how he had wanted this meeting to happen. And Garnet, well Garnet was inscrutable as always, but something reinforced to Domina that this situation needed to be dealt with delicately. Thankfully Bismuth broke the tension.

 

“Wow, how’d we manage to snag a Goshenite?” She said grinning at Domina. Domina couldn’t help it, she laughed.

 

“Uh..” Steven said “She’s-” He started before Domina interrupted him.

 

“No, I’m not a goshenite, My names Domina,” She said quickly, “I’m a friend of Stevens, like him, just uh... not a quartz.” She glanced at Steven then the rest of the gems. Steven looked unsure but Garnet gave her a thumbs up.

 

“Huh,” Bismuth looked her up and down and for a moment focused on her gem. Domina kept her smile plastered to her face. This was the only Idea she had, and the only one that was unlikely to alienate her completely from a new gem, one that could be useful, one that could be a good ally, and one that was going to be the hardest to convince, she meant well. “Nice to meet you, String Bean.” Bismuth said. Domina smiled, relieved. 

“Likewise, I’ve read your file, you’re about as infamous as those two” Domina said nodding to Pearl and Garnet.

 

“Read my file? You’ve got clearance.” Bismuth said, raising her eyebrows.

 

Domina shrugged, her smile fading to a simple smirk. “Yes some, Have you been filled in on what’s going on?” Bismuth's face turned serious.

 

“Yeah I did, we’re working with Diamond’s now-” 

 

“Temporarily.” Garnet interrupted. Bismuth put her hands up.

 

“Yeah yeah, temporarily, anyway, they’re here and everyone's ok with it?” She asked. Domina nodded hesitantly.

 

“For the most part.” Domina said, though that was a _ gross  _ oversimplification.

 

“Hm,” Bismuth said, obviously irritated. “Never though Yellow or White would come quietly,” Domina chuckled nervously.

 

“It wasn’t quite that easy.” She said.

 

“Oh you were there were you?” Bismuth asked, for a moment Domina couldn’t tell if she was teasing or not. If she knew surely Bismuth would have said something.

 

“I... yes. It was a long story” Domina said uneasily. She could see Steven giving her an uncomfortable look. 

 

“Yeah?” Bismuth said, she turned to the rest of the group. “Must be one heck of a one. A whole pearl rebellion too?” She looked at The Terrifying Renegade Pearl “Sure you didn’t have a hand in this doll?

 

“I am absolutely sure! Oh you should meet Blue,” White Pearl said stepping forward, she didn’t look at Domina but started to lead Bismuth from the ship. “Come on I’ll take you to her now, I’m so proud you know she’s been working on this project since the end of the war for earth, and they’re so organized-” Pearls words started to fade away as the pair left the hanger. Domina let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Domina we shouldn’t keep this from her.” Steven said immediately after the voices faded. Domina’s eyes were already half rolled

 

“Uh, Steven, she did kind of want to shatter all the diamonds.” Amethyst said “And like yeah they did a lot of bad stuff but Dom’s cool, mostly.

 

“Thanks... I think.” Domina said, apparently Yellow’s ‘coolness’ was under review. Amethyst nodded. “Anyway Steven, at least let her get to know me before she knows about... this.” She tapped her forehead next to her gem. Steven frowned.

 

“It’s still lying and she won’t be happy when she finds out, we should just come out about this from the beginning.” He said.

 

“We’re not lying just.. withholding information.” Domina said, “And you really think you’ll be able to convince her after she knows what I am?”

 

“Well we could at least try!”

 

“We only get one chance to try this Steven!” Domina snapped back.

 

“Enough.” Garnet said. She had broken up their minor arguments before, always ethical ones now that Domina thought about it. And she always did it the same way, not speaking over them, just speaking stronger than them. “It’s for the best if Bismuth doesn’t know about Domina, they need to be able to work together.” She said. Domina couldn’t help it, she smirked. “But,” Garnet continued “If this goes wrong Domina, the fact that this was hidden from her will only make things worse.” Garnet said. Domina nodded seriously and after a moment so did Steven.

 

“I promise, I won’t mess this up.” 

 

***

“Yeah that’s almost right!” Connie said, the human kneeled down and adjusted her feet. Sodalite’s pearl wasn’t sure how she had allowed Yellow Diamond’s Pearl to talk her into this... this... inappropriate behavior. 

 

Aforementioned gem was acting as a mildly distracted training dummy, standing behind her shield, as if there was any chance that Sodalite’s pearl would even get close to injuring her with her practice sword.

 

“You really do not have to do this, I have no business handling weapons.” Sodalite’s pearl said, the 12th of her meager excuses.

 

“No, no, it’s fine really.” Connie said taking a step back. “It takes my mind off... things” Sodalite’s pearl sighed and tried the maneuver once more, striking easily against Yellow Pearl’s shield. She tried not to think about how the clang was traitorously satisfying. But she was fitting in, almost all of the base was practicing the martial arts in one way or another. If she avoided joining in she would just draw attention to herself. Especially when she had been asked by someone so close to the leaders of the very ones she was trying to decieve.

 

“Great, now to block.” Connie said again touching her and positioning her arm carefully. Sodalite’s Pearl held her arm while Connie taught her to block as Yellow Pearl moved on to spar with the oversized feldspar. She tried to focus on the work, on keeping up appearances, and on what her next move should be, how she could get in contact with her Diamond. And she tried to push away the thoughts of how similar these maneuvers were too dancing, how good it felt to be told that she was doing well, and how right the sword felt in her hand.

 

***

The central area was still uncarved but from the moment she had entered Blue Pearl could see that the patterns had been altered or changed completely. Mauve was sitting on the floor facing the wall on the far side of the room, carving. The only sound was the soft whine of the engraver and a soft humming of a sapphires song. 

 

Blue Pearl padded over to Mauve not sure if she should interrupt. Mauve broke the silence first. Or rather, she started it by ending her song and letting go of the engraver switch. The tool disappeared into her gem.

 

“Did you... fix it?” Blue Pearl asked, the portion in question had once been full of parallel lines was now hatched. 

 

“I... think so.” Mauve said. “The players are here, though some are not exactly what will be needed in the end.

 

“Where is the end?” Blue Pearl asked. Mauve shrugged. 

 

“All I can offer is soon.” She stood and began to move to another section of the room, this one empty. “We have gained the bismuth of the rebellion, that has to be a good sign.” Mauve said, the whine of the engraver was back. Blue didn’t move, instead ran her fingers over the thinly engraved lines, tracing them as they doubled back, shied away from eachother and eventually combined into one. Up close these were different than the ones in the cave, more methodical and directioned.

 

“Yes, I believe White and Forrest are in the process of setting up a forge for her. She said she may be able to help with the repairs to the exterior of the base, as well as outfit the ones who are unable to summon their own weapon.” Blue said, though she had no clue where the material was going to come from.

 

“I’m sure something will be found, that is how this always works.” Mauve said.

 

“It is.” Blue Pearl said. “Mauve... this end that you are talking about, can we prepare? What could be done to-”

 

“I don’t have all the pieces,” Mauve interrupted turning off the engraver and turning to her. “I’ve looked and looked but.. I apologize Blue, I can’t give you more.”

 

“Will we survive it?” Blue said, not quite joking, not quite desperate. She said it with a quirk of her lips that hoped that for once Mauve would be wrong.

 

“The Rebellion will.”


	59. LIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, so late, so sorry. but this chapter ended up being written at a wrong time and is kind of a monster. I had a ton of fun with it. For those curious about some stuff in the first part of the chapter, I had another fic (that desperately needs updated) called Prelude where I wax poetic about what white Diamond was like pre gempire. Of course it was written before the phenomenal episode that is 'Legs from Here to Homeworld" and so it's got somethings that...would probably have to be changed. I'm stealing some stuff from there for this fic, you defintiely don't have to read it but if your curious, thats where some of this is coming from. 
> 
> Anyway enough about that fic, about this fic, I did some outlining yesterday and it's looking like (fingers crossed) we have only ~9 chapters before we head back to Homeworld, and into the homestretch. Are you guys ready? cause I'm not.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter! and I will see you monday!

Yellow knew that White had had secrets. It was unreasonable to think that a gem eon’s older than herself would not have some. But to keep something like this from her! From Blue! She wondered briefly if Domina even knew. They weren’t always on the best terms but it was unlikely that Domina would keep quiet about something like this. But, Red, the Pearl, she had known something. 

 

Yellow shapeshifted her form smaller as she passed into the non diamond size portion of the base. Other gems to quickly move to the side as she strode past them to the surveillance room. She opened the door with a quick wave of her hand and paused as she realized that her target was not alone.

 

Red herself sat at a console, surrounded by all four of the Diamond’s pearls along with Feldspar and Forrest. They all turned towards her when the door opened. Meanwhile a pearls voice echoed from the receivers speaker. 

 

“-around the pink district, which is unfortunate but we still have a few places where we could possibly meet you provided we have enough of a warning to make the trip while dodging the patrols.” The pearl said. Red nodded absentmindedly. 

 

“Do you ever knock?” Forrest asked snidely.

 

“What?” The pearl said over the radio.

 

“Uh n-not you, Jet.” Red said quickly casting a nervous look towards Yellow Diamond. Yellow Pearl looked at her wide eyed, then pointed at herself with a questioning look. Yellow Diamond pursed her lips and gestured to Red who immediately went as pale as... well Pink. White Pearl frowned.

 

“If you say so,” Jet said. “Anything else? I would like to get moving.”

 

“I .. uh..” Red stammered. 

 

“No.” Blue’s Pearl said leaning forward. “Stay safe Jet. contact us again at your earliest convenience.” 

 

“I will.” Jet said before the connection was terminated.

 

“What do you want Yellow Diamond?” Blue said. She seemed to be fitting into the role she made for herself quite well, cool, collected and unphased about the work around her. Pity she was a-... Pity her talents had been wasted up til now.

 

“I need to speak with Red, that's all.” She said simply. Said gem was still pale but stood. 

 

“Of course,” Red said wringing her hands in front of her, than behind then finally folding them awkwardly in front of her chest. The pearl looked at her expectantly.

 

“In private,” Yellow Diamond amended.

 

“Absolutely not.” White Pearl snapped.

 

“Anything you have to say to Red you can say with all of us present.” Blue said, nearly as coldly as her diamond may have once said it. Yellow Diamond saw Feldspars hand edge towards her gem. 

 

“Perhaps,” Her pearl said leaning forward. “If I was present as well, My Diamond?” Blue Pearl looked at Red, who nodded. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes at all the fuss made over this but nodded when Blue Pearl looked for her approval. Everyone else left the room leaving the three of them.

 

“When Domina and I met with you and your... group,” Yellow Diamond said. She didn’t sit, instead she paced, and brought up the screen with a copy of the files on it. “You mentioned that ‘the caste system wasn’t always this way.’ Where did you learn this?” Red didn’t meet her eyes, her arms had dropped to gather at her front. 

 

“I believe, I told you before that I had read it somewhere.” Red said. 

 

“There’s no possible way you could have, any publication that would have even implied that the empire has not always been as it is would have been destroyed,” Yellow said her voice starting to rise as she changed direction and picked up speed. “Any gem that even dared to question what there was before us would have been ground to dust!”

 

“My Diamond!” Yellow Pearl interrupted. Yellow Diamond spun on her heel to face both pearl who had understandably shrunk away from her, and the minor amounts of static she was putting out. “You um...” Yellow Pearl continued, nervous but with a firmnity that her voice normally didn’t hold. “It would be easier to respond for Red I believe if you... calmed down.”  Yellow Diamond pursed her lips and dissipated the lightning, carefully folding her arms behind her.

 

“Where.” Yellow Diamond repeated. Red didn’t look any more at ease but responded calmly.

 

“There’s scattered data.” She said. “This base is unimaginably old and there’s scattered references in some of the old public data drives to gems working beyond their position as we know it,” Red turned and pulled up a screen with some archaic gem writing on it. 

 

“A quartz architect, a zircon that did everything from drill setting to notetaking, a ruby general.” Red continued. “But none of this was treated as out of the ordinary. Something had to have changed.” Yellow Diamond thought for a moment then nodded, and looked at the screen that had started this all. After a moment of debate, she turned it to face the pearls.

 

_ “We cannot afford to specialize. Not after all this. Everyone does the work that needs done to recover, Sandstone or Conundrum we need as many hands as possible. They had the time to customize, to make each gem to suit their needs, and that's what caused us.. And what will cause their downfall.” _

 

“It goes on.” Yellow Diamond said. “White was always long winded in her speeches and writing when she could afford the time.” 

 

“These were buried in the diamond carral. They go back before homeworld was even colonized. They talk about...” She hesitated, did they deserve to kno... of course they did.  “About where we come from, about what our purpose was, especially the diamonds.”

 

“Can I...” Red said looking at the screen. Yellow send it over to her. 

 

“Can you get this out? Broadcast it or something?” She said, one part of her screaming that this was all wrong and that White would have never wanted this truth to get out. That part was quickly quelled by her anger that this history, this answer that White had denied her so many times, had just been sitting here. It had been kept from her deliberately!

 

“You... want people to know... about the past like this?” Red asked stunned.

 

“Well... yes. If you want a way to convince some of the most conservative of Beyrls then this would be your solution.” Yellow said waving her hand flippantly. “And why exactly do you care what my orders are on the matter? Isn’t rebellion what you’re supposed to be doing?”

 

“Uh... yes?” Red said as if she didn’t know the answer. 

 

“Good.” Yellow Diamond said turning to leave.

 

“My Diamond!” Her Pearl said quickly. Yellow stopped in the doorway. “The purpose... of Diamonds?” She asked. Yellow Diamond almost laughed. In the years past, when various forms of humor had been being experimented with in Blue’s court, the other diamond had often complained that she didn’t understand irony. But it was satisfying to Yellow to know that Blue was wrong in this case especially. 

“Diamonds were made as trophies.” Yellow Diamond said, turning to look at her pearl directly. “Someone’s shiny toy.”

 

****

“Some kind of Agate.” Bismuth said. Domina smirked at Steven from her place underneath the electric forge. Feldspar had pulled it out of storage and was positive that it would work, so Domina had taken responsibility to get it running. 

 

“I already said I’m not a quartz.” Domina said sliding out from underneath the machine and attempting to light it again. Bismuth laughed.

 

“Oh man, you must be some strata of elite then.” She said. Steven chuckled nervously. Bismuth seemed to accept that no one was going to tell her outright what Domina was. But that wasn’t going to stop her from guessing. 

 

“Well, you were definitely a little bit closer when you guessed goshenite.” Domina said.

 

“Hey if it bothers you String Bean you can tell me to mind my own bismuth. That’s what pearl did.” Bismuth said, her voice taking a slightly serious bend. Domina simply smiled back.

 

“No, go on,” She said, wondering how long it would take the war veteran to figure it out. “You’re not bothering me.”

 

“Soooo, what’s wrong with it?” Steven asked.

 

“The battery is actually depleted,” Domina said frowning looking over the forge once again. “Which is strange, that shouldn’t happen but.. Who knows these are the older models.”

 

“Looks fine to me.” Bismuth said. Domina chuckled softly and pulled up schematics for the updated versions of the machine. 

 

“This is what they look like nowadays” She said. “Apparently they run smoother and modulate easier but I’ve only heard that second hand.” 

 

“Must not be a gypsum then.” 

 

“No I am a little bit tougher than that.” Domina said suppressing a full body laugh. “I can go get Forest though and see if she has any ideas.”

 

“Forest?” Bismuth asked.

 

“One of the pearls.” Steven said smiling. “She’s really smart and as good with machines and stuff as Pearl... er well, our pearl.” Steven said, then frowned. “Wait that doesn’t,”

“Trust me meatball I know.” Bismuth said patting Steven’s back with a wry grin. “I’ve listened to gems dance around ‘our pearl’ for a thousand years, never gets old though.” 

 

“I imagine.” Domina said. “I will go see if I can locate Forest.”

 

“I’ll come with you!” Steven said quickly. Domina paused but shrugged and slowed her pace as she walked down the hallway. 

 

“So...” She said awkwardly, already expecting the oncoming lecture of Steven trying to change her mind.

 

“Do you think we should introduce her to Yellow Diamond?” Steven said. That definitely wasn’t what she was expecting.

 

“We can try.” Domina said. “Though there's not much introduction to do, just throw them in a room together and hope they come out unfracked.” Steven hummed doubtfully. They walked in silence for the rest of the trip to Forest’s work area and sent the pearl in the direction of the temporary forge. “So,” Domina tried again. “Do you still think this was a bad idea?” Steven shrugged.

 

“Maybe.” He said “But... if I stay mad at you and everyone it’s not going to change anything.” Domina had to appreciate that level of pragmatism. Especially coming from Steven. “Are you really that scared of people knowing who you are?” He asked. Domina stared at the floor as they walked back for a long time.

 

“I’m not... scared.” She said finally. “Being a diamond comes with a lot of responsibility and people expect a lot from you, some good, some bad. Both of those things are hard to deal with sometimes.” 

 

“It’s like... it’s like you were saying how everyone expects you to be like your mother.” Domina said stopping. The hallway was empty, and this conversation was going to need more concentration. “I get the same problems, and they have only just recently started to go away. People feared my mother, Yellow and Blue, feared my mother. And fear is no way to rule, if you can call what I do ruling.” 

 

“But the damage was already done by the time I came on the scene. All I can do, is be myself, and show that it doesn’t have to be that way, and hope things can heal.” Domina said firmly, finally looking at steven in the eyes. “Do you understand?”

 

“Yeah.” He said, humming something under his breath. “There’s wounds that even healing powers can’t heal, but we’re still not giving up!” Steven grinned broadly. “And we’re already doing better than both our moms. That has to count for something!” He said.

 

“It better.” Domina mumbled, pushing herself off of the wall. “Speaking of healing powers, do you think Jasper is ready yet, to try... Stevima on her?” Steven’s eyes got starry.

 

“Yes!! Definitely! Oh my gosh Connie hasn’t met Stevima!” He said. 

 

“Most of the base hasn’t met Stevima.” Domina said, this was bound to cause a stir, a diamond fusing with a quartz. She didn’t know how to feel about that, nor did she really know how to feel about Stevima, but now wasn’t particularly the time for feeling. “Shall we?” Domina asked holding out her hand. Steven took it and Domina spun him, dipping him and focusing deeply on the feeling of Steven, Earth, of having someone who understood.

 

Stevima cracked all twelve fingers against their palms. They hadn’t expected to make a reappearance, but shi- shards, they had gotten it right.

 

“Well,” They said inspecting their appearance. “I guess we should go show Connie.”   


	60. LX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, have a chapter guys! A Stevima chapter at that, I had fun writing it and for the first time in a week this chapter is beta'd by squish! Unfortunately it is the only chapter for this week, I will be at GenCon this weekend (cosplaying as Hessonite on.....friday or saturday) if you happen to be there and see a weirdo with big hair walking around looking lost thats me! come say hi!
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter! see you next week!

Existence this time was a little bit easier. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this time Stevima was planned as opposed to accidently appearing in a flash of light. They wandered through the halls towards the general direction Jasper was probably in. They were in no rush; and after all, it wasn’t every day they got to be in space. So they could take a little time to stare at the stars with their own eyes.

 

“Oh stars...” Yellow Diamond interrupted Stevima’s thoughts. 

 

“Yellow!” Stevima said, turning to face the diamond. They stood at roughly the same height as yellow, which was a new experience for their components. 

 

“Why are you two fused?” Yellow asked, she didn’t seem as annoyed or baffled as she had been the last time.

 

“Why do they need a reason?” Stevima asked. “Maybe they just felt like it.”

 

“I doubt that.” Yellow said with a frown. Stevima deflated.

 

“You’re just no fu-racking fun you know that? Yeah, so I’m here to fix ‘The Perfect Quartz’.” They said, beginning their movement towards the beta gems’ normal area. 

 

“Oh.” Yellow Diamond said stiffly, following them.

 

“You sound thrilled,” Stevima said. Yellow Diamond apparently elected to ignore them.

 

“Are you going to have to fuse for every single one of these?” She asked. Stevima shrugged.

 

“They probably will, unless you can come up with something better.” They said, then paused. “You wanna try fusing with Steven next time? Cause I’m sure you would only have to-  _ hahaha, _ ” Stevima began laughing before they finished the sentence. The laugh had a distinctly Domina flavor to it.

 

“I’m glad you think it’s amusing.” Yellow Diamond said flatly.

 

“I do!” Stevima said, rounding the corner. “You’ll just have to get used to seeing more of me.”

 

“I’ll do my best to stay on the opposite end of the galaxy when I know you’re... together.” 

 

“That’s no fun.” Stevima said as they walked into the training room. “Connie!” They crossed the large room in a handful of bouncy steps. The other gems present stared, Stevima figured it would take them a moment to figure out exactly who they were. Connie whipped around the moment Stevima skidded to a stop in front of her.

 

“Who... what?” She asked. Stevima grinned, through a hint of worry worm at the back of their mind as they crouched down and held out their hand.

 

“Stevima.” They said. “My components think about you endlessly, one of them in particular.” Their other hand tapped their stomach gem. Connie didn’t say anything for a moment and Stevima wondered if they should have avoided this situation. Stevonnie was great, Stevonnie was well put together and  _ The Experience _ tm. Stevima was...

 

**Great! You’re fantastic!**

 

_ Connie will be fine, she knows about the other fusions, you have nothing to worry about. _

 

Stevima was themself.

 

“Wow...” Connie said, she took a step back and looked them up and down. Stevima smiled and stood to their full height.

 

“Pretty cool right?” They asked.

 

“Yeah... oh my goodness. Your still half gem! You have both weapons right? And they form into a set of bagpipes?” Connie asked. Stevima laughed.

 

“Yeah, they’re dumb looking bagpipes though, not even plaid. Here,” Domina summoned her components weapons and combined them with ease. It was if she had done it a thousand times before. “See, ridiculous, and I only put one sword in there but it looks like there's like... four.” Stevima said inspecting the ‘weapon’.

 

“Still really cool,” Connie said. “Stevonnie, just has steven’s shield and his mom’s sword.”

 

“ **It’s your sword!”** Stevima protested, they frowned and took a deep breath. Could they at least keep it together for a few moments before the main event. Connie apparently was able to discern exactly which part of Stevima that had come from and smiled warmly. Stevima felt half of them roll their eyes. Yellow Diamond cleared her throat behind them. Stevima turned and saw her indicate the betas standing on the opposite side of Connie. They looked at them, wide-eyed.

 

“Woah... are you...” Carnelian began. Skinny gaped like a fish out of water. A metaphor that was quickly filtered to Domina.

 

“Stevima!” Stevima said. “White and Nerdy, and Wundergem decided to mash it up and give ‘The Kindergarten Kid That Could’ another shot!” Jasper growled and grumbled something that sounded like...

 

“Yeah, yeah sis, ‘Why is it always fusion with you crystal gems?’” Ameythst grinned at Stevima who smiled before their form shuddered again.

 

“ _ I am not a crystal gem.” _ Stevima said, then shook their head as a hush began to fall over the room. “Had to go and make it awkward, didn’t you airhead?” They muttered. Yellow Diamond snorted softly behind them. Stevima looked down at the bagpipes then around at the slowly growing crowd, word must have spread fast. “Alright, show time.” They said.

 

Stevima’s gems began to glow, as they drew the bagpipe’s reed to their lips. Jasper’s memories were different this time. Just as Stevima had suspected, Steven’s efforts had brought them into focus and calmed the ribbons of spiky fear and depression that emanated from the gem’s memories. All in all, this scene was quieter than the one on the nephrite’s dropship, there was only one gem to heal. Stevima found that they could move as they began to play the notes in concert with the warped ones echoing back at her, high, middle, low. The song began to align and Stevima watched with wonder as pictures of battle and feelings of comradery pulled sharply into focus. It was so solid. They took their hand off the bagpipe for just a second to prod at a dust mote, impeccably rendered and remembered. 

 

That was enough to throw the sound off. They blew one false note, a middle where there should have been a low, and could feel the emotions warping, loneliness and anger taking control as if something was shattered. Again. And just kept repeating. 

 

Frack! Shards! Shit! Damn it! What had they done? What had they done? Stevima panicked, Steven panicked, Domina panicked. They felt their instrument fall apart in their hands and they felt their components try to pull apart. No, no, no! This couldn’t happen, they wouldn't allow this to happen. They had to maintain control, they had to hold it together. They had to take a moment to think about... they had to stop. 

 

As impossible as it was, everything stopped. Stevima found themselves caught between existence and separation. They pulled themselves together. They saw not only Jasper’s memories in front of them but Steven’s and Domina’s. Stevima stepped carefully through the memories of their components and entered the sphere of Jasper’s memories. They reached forward to touch one, caught flickering between corruption, and immediately was hit with a note. High,  ‘F’ Sharp Major Seventh, rang out through the mindspace. Stevima sighed and wiped at it on impulse, gently , like pearl would wipe their face when they were younger. The picture cleared slightly and they could see or feel the memory of being told that they were the only one left. They had been the only one to survive the war. They remembered being told that they had to prove that that entire colony wasn’t simply a waste of resources, of life.

 

Stevima shook their head. That wasn’t their memory... But it was clear now. Though the note still rung out, followed discordently by rest of the corruption song. They still had a job to do. Stevima summoned their pipes, straight from their gems, without any combination necessary. And then they let go. Discordant note’s bombarded them. Nothing else could reach their ears not even their own heartbeat. And they blew with all their might, high, middle, low, high, middle, low. But it still wasn’t enough. 

 

Steven pushed back against the corruption first, showing the Betas, how thrilled they had been to hear Jasper was back, to Amethyst tenderly collecting her gem at the kindergarten, and to his rush to heal her even as she began to warp when she was first corrupted. 

 

Domina held steady. She did not know this Jasper but she knew how hard Skinny had been willing to fight for her safety and what she had been willing to do in retaliation for Yellow’s hasty maneuver. And most of all, she knew how the betas spoke of Jasper, how she had fought to protect them through one of the worst wars homeworld had ever been through. If anything, just for that, Jasper was worth saving.

 

The song aligned at once, ringing in accord with the notes Stevima played and softening as they wound it down to silence. The darkness around them faded as they blinked their eyes to see Jasper’s gem sitting carefully in Carnelian’s hands. A hush fell over the crowd that had gathered as they waited.  And then the gem began to glow, and rise.

 

A quartz form expanded from the gem as Stevima smiled. 

 

“Well then.” They said. Their form began to shudder and they did not fight it. “Until next time.”


	61. LXI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys want a double length unbeta'd chapter? It's only monday and I'm kind of having a rough week so far so this didn't get done until late today but I'm happy with it, It's one of those that has a lot of scenes that I've had in my head for a while so it's good to get them out on paper... er screen. whatever. Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter.
> 
> See you friday.

Corruption was used as a last resort for colonies deemed by the diamonds to be such failures that the price was to be paid by the gems who made it so. It was irreversible, a weapon to keep lower gems in their proper place. 

 

It took Sodalite’s pearl a long moment to fully appreciate exactly what the abominable fusion had just done. Long enough for White Diamond and Steven to break apart from each other in a flash of light, both landing on their backs. Long enough for The Perfect Quartz to fully form and land with a thud on the floor of the training room. 

 

Steven got to his feet first. White Diamond elected to stay seated, her legs collapsed under her like a... well... as a pearl would normally sit, but surely a diamond could sit however she wants. No matter how ridiculous the scene was. 

 

“He-hey Jasper.” Steven said, giving the quartz soldier a worried smile. “How do you feel?” There was silence, an intake of breath from everyone in the room. Jasper, turned to face Steven, flipping her hair from her face to reveal her gem, still as twisted as it had been in her corrupted form. 

 

“Rose!” She said, staring down Steven. The hybrid quartz gulped. Then Jaspers face softened. “No, Steven...” She said finally with a nod. Steven breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“Yeah, glad you remember or this would be really really awkward.” Steven said.

 

“Oh come on Steven you couldn’t have thought her head is that thick.” Skinny Jasper said. The normal jasper, the perfect one looked pale and turned around completely  to see the off color quartzes staring at her.

 

“You...” Jasper shook her head, as if trying to settle her memories into place.

 

“Green is really not your color, tiny.” Carnelian said. Jasper smirked, though from her vantage point Sodalite’s pearl didn’t think it looked like the superior smile of a gem who was a famed war hero and legendary gladiator. It looked hopeful,and relieved.

 

“Still looked better on me than it would have on you, runt.” She said superiorly, that facade quickly faded. “I... Yellow Diamond told me you had all been harvested.”

 

“She lied.” Skinny spat out. “We’ve been at the Human Zoo,”

 

“No.” Jasper said. “She had to have a good reason.”

 

“She didn't.” Yellow Diamond said. Sodalite’s pearl jumped and turned, she hadn’t even been aware both diamonds were in the room. From the looks of it half the base had appeared, including the Bismuth that had recently been released. Jasper’s mouth dropped open at the sight of seeing her diamond then, remembering her place she quickly saluted. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes.

 

“Don’t bother,” She said. “If the circumstances were different we’d be having a very serious conversation about your behavior in the weeks leading up to your corruption.”

 

“Oh no!” Skinny said, stepping forward. “You don’t get to blame her for that! Your the one that sent her to earth in the first place!” Like any sensible gem, Sodalite’s pearl took a step back from the gem that was likely to be reduced to shards in mere moments. White Diamond got to her feet, her eyes darting between the bickering group, the other organics, and then to Bismuth.

 

“How exactly is it my fault that she decided to fuse with a corrupted gem?” Yellow Diamond said. She held her ground, and feigned disinterested but the air around her was already hanging with static.

 

“Skinny.” Jasper said warningly. The off color didn’t back down from the diamond.

 

“You’re the whole reason she was on that stars’ cursed planet!” She yelled getting closer. The winds had stilled suddenly and Sodalite’s pearl could feel them moving with purpose. “You’re the reason she ended stuck in a fusion with that Lapis!” Suddenly there was a woosh of air and Skinny was pushed back at roughly the same time a bolt of electricity was deflected and ricocheted into the ceiling.

 

“That’s enough!” White Diamond ordered. “Now is not the time, you two.” She directed her attention to Skinny. “Calm down, please, yelling at her, while satisfying, will get you nowhere!”

 

“And just what are you supposed to be?” Jasper asked stepping forward and staring down White Diamond in defense of Skinny. The diamond smiled up at the quartz.

 

“No one of consequence,” She said “But you’re going to want to listen to me, it will make things less awkward later.” There was something unnerving about watching a diamond play games with an innocent gem. Was it for her own amusement? From what Sodalite’s pearl had seen of the Diamond hybrid that was unlikely to be the case but... she was a diamond, if she thought it was right... The small glances the diamond hybrid made towards the puzzled bismuth may have had an additional meaning. 

 

White Diamond’s hand’s lowered and Sodalite’s pearl could feel the air return to normal. Yellow Diamond tugged the hem of her jacket straight and folded her hands behind her back as she stared down Jasper.

 

“You lied to me.” Jasper said firmly.

 

“I did.” Yellow Diamond replied, her face was unreadable. “It was what I thought was best at the time. It seems I was mistaken.”

 

“Damn right you were.” Carnelian muttered. Sodalite’s pearl had to wonder how these gems had survived a war when they obviously had no sense of self preservation. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes and seemingly ignored the baffled looks of all but a few.

 

“I apologize, I was wrong.” She said, before turning and exiting the room.

****

A gem base didn’t sleep. There was always work around the clock and after months on a planet with an established day and night cycle, Blue Pearl had to admit, returning to the hustle and bustle of a gem base was disorienting. 

 

But it was still comforting in a way to see how many things were still the same despite the ongoing rebellion. Mid-level bureaucrats were still obnoxious and difficult to work with, even when your the de facto head of a rebellion faction. Feldspar came with her as back up to talk to the Datolite, that had been the main logistics officer for the yellow district. Even so, they were making little ground.

 

“Emergency or not, I am certainly not going to divulve top secret information that was entrusted to me by my diamond!” Datolite protested. Feldspar sighed.

 

“Yellow Diamond is a part of this, she’s been very cooperative, I’m sure she would have no problem with you telling us where these citadel tunnels lead.” Feldspar said.

 

“Well why don’t you ask her then?” The Datolite looked at them haughtily through her glasses and Blue Pearl sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was confront Yellow Diamond about  _ this. _

 

“Datolite, don’t you want to do something to help?” Blue Pearl said, “This could be key information.” 

 

“And that is exactly why I am not going to tell you, important information such as this is safest where it cannot fall into the wrong hands, ergo, with me.” Datolite said. It took all of Blue Pearls patience not to summon her axe and smack Datolite across the face with the haft, preferably out the nearest airlock.

 

“Alright, fine.” Feldspar said, “We’ll talk to Yellow Diamond.”

 

“See that you do.” Datolite said, before walking off. Blue Pearl sighed and glanced up at Feldspar. 

 

“Really? Are you going to talk to her?” She asked. 

 

“Actually I was going to ask your uh... er well Yellow, to talk to her.” Feldspar said, changing topics mid sentence.

 

“My what?” 

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Feldspar said leading the way through the halls. “Besides, Yellow Diamond’s been pretty decent from what I’ve seen of her.” Blue Pearl rolled her eyes.

 

“Please, you’ve barely interacted with her, I’m been around her during her worst moods, why one time I saw her dissipate a Hessonite just for-” Blue Pearl trailed off as she heard Zee’s voice talking... seemingly to no one.”

 

“My diamond, I- No no too formal. Yo Dom, so... urgh no...So I imagine you’ve figured out that me and NY. frack but what if she hasn’t!” Zee said. Blue Pearl leaned around the corner and saw Zee pacing in an alcove. Feldspar leaned over her to look, puzzled.

 

“Look, pebble, so before.. When I said I wasn’t allowed on homeworld, it’s because-” Zee’s hand flew to her mouth and there was a muffle scream of irritation.

 

“Are... you alright Zee?” Blue Pearl asked. The milky quartz jumped and turned to look at them, forcing an uneasy smiled.

 

“Oh.. Blue, Feldspar, hey. How much of that did you hear?” She asked.

 

“Enough to be worried... are you alright?”

 

“Fine fine!” Zee said. Then set her face firmly in resolve. “Actually, have either of you two seen Domina?” 

 

Blue Pearl shook her head. “No not since Stevima-” Blue Pearl was cut off by a sudden silence as the lights extinguished, and the air systems turned off.

 

“Oh shards.” Feldspar said. “That can’t be good.”

****

Yellow Diamond let herself into the stations power core. It was, predictably, dormant. She was having one of those moments, where looking back on past work was just... cringeworthy. Why had she ever thought that it was acceptable to design a power generator that couldn’t modulate and stabilize automatically for sudden fluctuations in the system.

 

“None of this ever happened until everyone suddenly decided to start tapping new things in to the power grid,” Forest said, storming into the room. “It’s that stupid forge that did it! I warned that bismuth not to turn it all the way up, but  _ no _ heating iridium has to be done at 1000 degrees kelvin!” 

 

“It’s in my experience that people never listen.” Yellow said dryly. 

 

“So what h-” Domina said, she paused in the doorway to yawn, “-appened?”

 

“The tripped circuit shut down the generator.” Forest said already looking down into the cavernous abyss that typically separated the power generator from the service door. Normally you could raise a platform to connect the two but of course, that was broken. 

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?” Yellow asked frowning. She distinctly remembered seeing Pink’s Pearl shoo Domina to bed less that 4 hours ago.

 

“I am but the power cut woke me up.” Domina said. “Don’t tell Pearl, she doesn’t like me near these things because of the radiation anyway.”

 

“What’s wrong with the radiation?” Forest asked.

 

“It damages my cells, nothing too bad in low doses though.” Domina said. Yellow Diamond stopped in her cursory inspection of the generator.

 

“Then you shouldn’t be in here.” she said.

 

“It’s alright, I want to help, anyway, I brought a set of extra hands.” Domina said. Yellow glanced back over at Domina, and the door to see the Era 2 peridots walking through it. Shards.

 

“We have this well in hand.” She said tensely, she was not dealing with peridots from her court today. 

 

“Ah yes of course, we should just-” one of the Era 2 peridots said. Domina interrupted her and blocked her exit.

 

“No no, I’m sure it’s essentially going to need taken apart.” She said, then smiled at Yellow. “I’ll create a bridge across and you all can do what needs to be done.” Yellow Diamond glared at her and gazed at the peridots, this group did not include 5XG though she was aware that this was the rest of column 5X. She vaguely remembered an order sent in a fit of rage to have the remainder of the column sent to drudge work on the lower levels of Homeworld. And of course after the incident with Jasper, Domina had to bring them into this. Domina looked at her expectantly, a smile hiding a pleading look. The same look her pearl had given her after they had spoken in Pink Diamond’s chambers aboard the human zoo. Better, right, that's what she had to be. 

 

“Of course.” She said turning back to the generator, it was easier to modulate her voice when she wasn’t looking at them. “I’m sure Forest will appreciate the help as well.” Forest startled, and scrambled back from the edge.

 

“What? Oh yes.” She said then waved her hand flippantly between Domina and the chasm. “Just, do your...windy thing and we’ll take care of everything else.” 

 

****

Holding a bridge wasn’t hard but it did mean that Domina couldn’t move for several hours. She sat on the ground, focusing on making air solid enough to walk on. The door opened.

 

“My Diamond?” Heliodor said.

 

“I am a little bit preoccupied at the moment Heliodor, can it wait?” She asked. She didn’t turn her head. 

 

“Oh yes, of course, if you could just find me at your earliest convenience.” Heliodor said. Domina nodded absentmindedly. She was transfixed by watching Yellow Diamond of all people have a level headed and calm conversation with a peridot, that she didn’t seem to be dominating. They had come a long way.

 

“I will.” She said. It took hours before the group crossed the gap for the last time, Domina let the air have control of itself and cheered with the rest of the group as the lights turned back on and fresh air blew through the base. Now she was definitely not tired, which meant if she managed to dodge Pearl for long enough she could talk to heliodor. She exited, looking for the gem when she ran into another one. 

 

Or perhaps a couple? She still was not sure what the best way to refer to a fused pair was. Domina had actually met all of the permafusions on board the base, whether by herself or through steven. This one... was new though which she supposed was to be expected when you had this many gems in such close proximity. She was tall, almost reaching the ceiling and pale pale green. Her hair was wild but hung to the right side of her body, and she had 4 legs strangely enough. Domina could only see one gem on her bicep though, which probably meant that the other was either on her back or under her hair. The fusion stared wide eyed at her, almost fearful and Domina quickly smiled.

 

“Oh sorry!” She said “Didn’t see you there. I haven’t met you yet I don’t think, are you new?” She asked. The gem hesitated but nodded.

“Y-yes I am, Your Bril-” 

 

“Oh please don’t bother with that!” Domina said quickly. “This is hardly a situation that would require it. Just call me Domina, and you are?”

 

“....Tourmaline.” She said. “Sorry I... didn’t mean to have you see us- me like this.” Domina blinked, trying to place features or anything. Maybe she was made of some kind of quartz? And... someone else. Someone that would care.

 

“Can... I ask... who makes you?” Domina said. The fusion looked more frightened than before, “Or not! It’s absolutely fine.” She finished quickly, there was no reason to pry. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen Heliodor 4KV?”

 

“We- er I have not.” Tourmaline said.

 

“Ah, oh well, if you see her tell her I’ll be at the ship,” She said.

 

“Yes, of course my- Domina.” Tourmaline said. Domina smiled.

 

“Thank you, good to meet you again Tourmaline, I hope....” She paused, what do you even say to wish someone a good fusing? “I...hope you’re happy with yourself.” She finally settled on. Tourmaline laughed, one that sounded... familiar but blended. Almost like home. Domina yawned, maybe she should go to bed.

 

Unfortunately she was interrupted on the way to the ship.

 

“Hey, Apatite.” Bismuth called from the forge. Domina paused and shook her head with a grin, before letting herself be waved in, to stare at the items on the smiths anvil. 

 

“Armor?” She asked.

 

“Yeah, I mean, gems don’t really wear it, but I figured Steven and Connie and you could use it, You’re a bit more fragile.” Bismuth said stacking the armguards inlaid with roses on a nearby table. Domina thought about her collection of injuries over the years from fighting off wildlife and nodded.

 

“That's pretty accurate.” She said, then her sleep addled brain remembered something. “Oh! Yellow said that the forge should be alright to turn onto full power. “

 

“Hm.” Bismuth said frowning. “Glad I have her luminousness’ permission.” She said sarcastically. 

 

“I don’t think she really meant it like that, she was mostly trying to keep Forest from ranting.” Domina said. Bismuth looked at her for a while, then took out a tape measure and held it against Domina’s torso and arms.

 

“Where’d you work before all this?” She asked. Domina hesitated, this was getting specific. “If you don’t want to tell me that's fine, just.. curious, you’re awfully chummy with Yellow Diamond.” 

 

“Ah well,” Domina said, cursing her familiarity. “She likes me, thinks I’m useful. As for what I did... I... was in the fleet.” She said erring towards the side of caution. “I did a little bit of everything, mostly managerial tasks.”

 

“Ahh.. you are an upper crust.” Bismuth said, there was an easy teasing smile on her face. Domina chuckled.

 

“Yeah you could say that. Trust me though it’s not all it’s cracked up to be but better than being stuck on Homeworld.” 

 

“I hear that. At least in the colonies you get to build new things instead of giving in to whatever latest half cracked plan some elite has.” Bismuth said turning to sift through a pile of scrap.

 

“Try sifting through and approving those half cracked plans. I swear some of them have never actually modeled things out before they pitch them.” Domina said. Bismuth laughed.

 

“Probably not.” Bismuth said “You know, one time I had this Bixbite who-”

 

“My Diamond!” Heliodor said, flinging the door open and striding in “9ZQ said you had time and I heard your voice so I... is this a bad time?” Domina didn’t actually face Heliodor. She was still looking at Bismuth and saw the confusion, then the realization, then the horror and anger wash over her. Domina didn’t stop smiling. Oh she was angry, not at Heliodor, more so at herself for not having gone looking for the gem in the first place instead of walking past the forge. Anger though was not going to do anything so she breathed, and instead turned to face the gem.

 

“Heliodor, my apologies, I meant to find you, if you could wait for me just outside the ship I’ll be right there, assuming Pearl doesn’t shove me off to rest.”

 

“Yes yes, of course My Diamond.” Heliodor said, looking nervously at Bismuth and backing out of the room.

 

“And Heliodor.” Domina said calmly.

 

“Yes My Diamond?”

 

“Knock next time please, there rarely is a reason to just burst into a room.”


	62. LXII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp here it is, the kick off of the last big event before the end of arc finale. in other news betaing tonight revealed that me and Squish added and took away the same amount of comma's! a null comma count! amazing! I might be figuring out this writing thing!.
> 
> Anyway. Enjoy the chapter! see you monday!

Domina watched the door close behind Heliodor. The only sound in the room was the soft hum of the forge and the heat that had been comforting before was now stifling. Every epithet and curse Domina had ever heard ran through her head, including the ones that Stevima was cut off from saying. She put on a pleasant smile and slowly turned. 

 

Bismuth had crossed her arms over her chest, just under her gem. 

 

“Well, as I said, I’m a bit sturdier than a gypsum.” Domina said evenly.

 

“Yeah,  just a bit.” Bismuth said. “You know I was wondering where White Diamond was. I’d seen Yellow all over the place but I thought even White Diamond couldn’t hide from everyone on a base this small.”

 

“I’m pretty hard to pick out of a crowd.” Domina said, relaxing. Maybe Bismuth was going to laugh it off, and her gem type would have become an ongoing gag between them, much like it was to most of the fleet section. 

 

“Mhm,” Bismuth didn't relax. She was as tense as she had been the moment Heliodor had spoken and the full weight of what the gem’s words had meant. “So, having fun? Lying to everyone and forcing them to fight your battles for you?” Domina immediately stood up straight.

 

“I’m not forcing anyone to do anything.” She said. “And I never lied to you! I just asked that we keep my identity quiet to a gem who has been... hostile to diamonds in the past.” 

 

“And why shouldn’t I be? You’re the root cause of this whole problem!” Bismuth had also brought herself up to her full height.

 

“I am not my mother!” Domina was done with that chapter of her life, done trying to live up to  _ that. _

 

“Oh I get that. But it doesn’t mean you're any better,” Bismuth said. 

 

“I am! I’m different! I’m better!” Domina said. 

 

“If you’re so different then why hasn't anything changed, cause from where I'm standing the empire looks pretty much the same, the diamonds on top and the uppercrusts pushing everyone else down trying to get as close as possible.” 

 

“I’ve tried to change things! It’s not that easy! How can you say any of this?! You barely know who I am.”

 

“You’re just like any of the other upper crusts. You still spend your time playing games with gems who are just trying to do their jobs.” Bismuth said. “Tell me, those scars? The ones on your arms.” Domina froze, she could practically feel what she was talking about radiating from underneath her jacket. “They’re from gem shards right, how many gems have you shattered for making a single mistake?” Domina stayed silent. “You don’t even know do you? So tell me how much 'better’ than the real White Diamond are you?”

 

“...Eighteen.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’ve shattered eighteen gems directly, six rubies, four quartzes, one phenkanite, two peridots, and five beyrls. They were shattered for everything from theft and desertion to outright sedition. And you’re right. That’s where the scars are from. 

 

“But that's not it, there are countless others indirectly shattered through my own actions. There are scars for every mistake I’ve made that has led to someone getting hurt, every miscalculation and every fit of emotion where I couldn’t control myself.” It was Bismuth’s turn to fall silent, not agape at her sincerity or at her willingness to speak. More like challenging her to come up with anything to change her mind on what Domina was guilty of. But now, when she was tired with old wounds as hot as stars under her skin. And there was nothing to defend cause Bismuth was right. “What do you want me to say?” She said. “Because I imagine you know as well as I do that a simple sorry isn’t going to cut it.”

 

“Domina.” Pearl’s voice said. Domina turned from Bismuth to see that Pearl had just entered the room. “I believe you’re supposed to be asleep.” She almost laughed. 

 

“Right, right. I don’t suppose you saw Heliodor while you were on your way over here?” Domina asked.    

 

“I did and she was told to come find you later.” Pearl said, she was smiling but Domina could tell it was anything but pleasant. In a way, she almost pitied Bismuth, depending on how much Pearl had heard. “Domina, Bed.”

 

“Yes, Ma’am,” Domina said, giving Bismuth a nod and slipping out of the door.

 

“Are you seriously going to defend your diamond to me?” She heard Bismuth ask as she lingered by the door a moment.

 

“No, but I’ll give you a warning about antagonizing my family.” Pearl said, her voice had gone low and serious, then it got louder. “Domina! Go to bed! Now!”

****

 

She had been made for Sodalite 0AV as a reward for services rendered to Blue Diamond’s Court. From what she had gathered, it was something involving toppling the society of sulfide based organisms that once inhabited what was now one of Blue Diamond’s most productive colonies. 

 

Sodalite never told her any of this directly, in fact Sodalite rarely spoke to her if she wasn’t being reprimanded or given an order. That was far from the worst relationship a pearl could have with her owner. 

 

It wasn’t as if Sodalite's pearl wasn’t aware of worlds and possibilities outside of Homeworld and the inner planets. She had been with Sodalite for almost eight thousand years. She had done her fair share of travelling. 

 

And she was well aware that rebellion was possible. She had been by Sodalite’s side throughout the Earth rebellion. She had seen gems caught and shattered for acting outside of their intended purpose. She had turned in gems for the plans she overheard them discussing in hushed whispers when they thought no one of consequence was around. 

 

Sodalite took the credit for putting down these fledgling rebellions, and because of her actions, continued to rise to prominence within Blue Diamond’s court. And though she never spoke to her directly about it, Sodalite recognized the work she did. She always told other gems when at balls or galas or soires, that “I would be nowhere without her.” and Sodalite's pearl would file those moments away and reflect on them when she found herself... less than satisfied with her place.

 

If Sodalite's pearl turned the coordinates for this base to Blue Diamond on the ‘orders’ of her Sodalite then that could be enough to propel Sodalite to Blue Diamond’s right hand. And... perhaps then... Oh she didn’t know what then! She didn’t know why she was doing this. 

 

Sodalite's pearl wandered the hallways of the New Rebellion’s base, aimlessly heading towards the lower levels, one of the few places she had yet to explore. If she was really going to turn this rebellion in to Blue Diamond, she should have done it weeks ago to give her diamond as much time as possible to send forces to this remote outpost. Instead she was practically aiding them! Participating in weapons training, assisting with facility repair, even doing nothing but listening to music that Steven had been playing for the base, all under the pretense of information gathering. She should shatter herself for this. She should contact the nearest outpost and turnover the information immediately.  Instead, she opened the door in front of her.

 

Sodalite's pearl entered the cavernous chamber and was... confused. What purpose would a rebel base have for a room filled with nothing but carved doodles? The room was otherwise empty except for a table with an engraver resting upon it, and Sodalite’s pearl began to walk the perimeter of it, searching for any rhyme or reason to the strange carvings. It was like an unfinished mural, all converging on one blank spot.

 

“Are you lost?” A voice said. Sodalite's pearl jumped and spun to face the fusion that had just entered the door, the fusion that White Diamond herself had bowed and apologized to.

 

“No... I simply was inspecting the...” Sodalite’s pearl began, her voice trailed off as the Fusion, Mauve, gave her a strange look. “The carvings.” Mauve didn’t say anything, simply stared at her for an uncomfortably long time until Sodalite's pearl broke the silence. “But I will get out of your wa-”

 

“No, no,” Mauve said, crossing the gap so that they were closer. She glanced at something behind Sodalite’s pearl but when she turned, all she could see was a blank space. “I was just surprised. I don’t often get many visitors down here. Who... are you?” 

 

“I am the pearl that belongs- formerly belonged to Sodalite Cut 0AV.”

 

“I see.” Mauve said, she glanced at the engraver, at the various swirls and patterns on the wall and then at the blank space on the wall. “You know. The future is a mutable concept and often it’s observers find themselves on the crossroads of it’s winding paths.” They had begun to walk opposite each other, keeping the table between them. A sapphire’s future vision wasn’t always accurate and they weren’t all-knowing but still, Sodalite’s pearl had to wonder exactly how much Mauve knew. 

 

“I... assumed so.” Sodalite’s pearl said, her back was to the door now, she could run, but where to? There wasn’t anywhere on this base she could go and not have someone find her eventually. They would shatter her! Well, maybe the pearls wouldn’t. Yellow seemed to like her well enough, but that wouldn’t necessarily spare her from the wrath of the diamonds.

 

“What are you going to do?” Mauve asked, her voice was steady, fearless, like she had it all figured out. “You have this information. What is your plan? Where do your allegiances lie?”

 

“I...” Sodalite’s pearl glanced over her shoulder, her feet felt rooted to the spot. Where could she run? Where could she hide? What could she say to get herself out of this situation? “I’m... not sure.” That was the wrong answer. Mauve sighed.

 

“That’s fine... It really is. But I need to tell Blue, if you’re not sure you’re a threat then we can’t afford-” 

 

Sodalite’s pearl acted without thinking, or rather, with only one thought.  _ I cannot be found out _ . She lunged forward, grabbing the engraver, the only thing at hand. And she attacked the fusion.


	63. LXIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh this chapter, glad we're finally kind of back on track to the end of this arc, and you know.. I do love those cliff hangers. Beta'd by squish with a positive comma count..for once
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter

Yellow Diamond wasn’t a stranger to burying herself in work to avoid dwelling on feelings. That was how she had gotten through the last five thousand years. So when uncomfortably angry thoughts about White Diamond, and the way she had treated her gems crept into her mind, Yellow Diamond went to work. This time though there wasn’t really paperwork to bury herself in, instead she turned her attention to the escape pods and transport ships that had been docked in the hangar. Most of them were useless, having previously been raided for parts but with some thought and a little time she might be able to cobble together one or two working ships, still nowhere near as many as they might realistically need, but it was a start.

 

“What are you looking for?” Domina asked. Yellow Diamond looked up from Domina’s toolbox, startled, and saw the other diamond holding a half-eaten piece of zoo fruit. She... didn’t look happy, which was the strangest thing to say regarding Domina.

 

“Your molecular separator. Are you alright?” She asked. Domina grunted noncommittally, shoved the rest of the fruit in her mouth, and bent down to look through the box. Less than five seconds later she deposited the tool into Yellow’s hand. Several chews later she swallowed and sighed.

 

“I’m fine. What are you doing?”

 

“Trying to see if it’s possible to get a working ship out of that pile of scrap outside.” Yellow Diamond said, getting to her feet.

 

“Hm, well you can just take the box if you want.”

 

“...You don’t want to help?” Yellow asked. She was actually surprised Domina hadn’t dragged her into this project before now. Domina shrugged.

 

“No... I’m... really tired I’m going to go back to sleep.” She said.

 

“Shards, are you ill? I thought you said that the radiation dosage wouldn’t affect you!” Yellow Diamond sighed. Really, how could she be this reckless?

 

“No I’m not ill.” Domina said irritatedly. “I just... ended up having a conversation I didn’t want to last night.”

 

“...About?” Yellow said, was that all? Seriously?

 

“Bismuth found out I’m White Diamond and now she’s upset with me. Is that enough for you to stop prying?”

 

“...You’re moping over that?” Yellow Diamond asked.

 

“I’m not moping!” Domina said indignantly.

 

“Domina, I know what moping looks like.” Yellow Diamond folded her arms. “Come with me. Dwelling on it won’t help.” Domina rolled her eyes but followed Yellow Diamond back to the smaller ships. Yellow Diamond had been subject to Domina’s ‘moods’ before, mostly during the last few years of Domina’s training on Homeworld when she had become more withdrawn and argumentative. Of course then, Yellow hadn’t really done anything to help her, and now she wasn’t entirely sure how. Thankfully, it seems all Domina needed was a metaphorical push.

 

“I see Forest has already been here.” She said, a fond smile creeping to her lips.

 

“I believe so. This,” Yellow Diamond indicated the transport pod closest to the wall. “Seems to be the most intact model. But the engine coolant- Don’t give me that look.”

 

“It uses coolant?” Domina said, she jumped to land in front of the pod. “Stars, how old is this thing?”

 

“Older than your ship,” Yellow said, then mentally amended _much older._  “Anyway the coolant line is broken. I’m thinking I could graft it back together with parts from this-”  Yellow Diamond was cut off by a lurch as the floor where she was stepping suddenly dropped.

 

“Oh frack! What was that?” Domina asked seconds before a piercing siren began to sound throughout the base.

 

****  
“What do you mean it ‘just detached’?!” Yellow Pearl could hear Forest yelling from all the way down the hallway. She ran to keep up with Blue Pearl who was already running at top speed to the place where you used to be able to enter the lowest part of the base. In place of the door was a translucent yellow barrier over empty space. She could still see the section beyond the barrier, slowly drifting away from them, turning freely amongst the asteroid belt.

 

“It detached!” Sodalite’s pearl said frantically. “I don’t know how! It just did!”

 

“Forest, you assured me that this section was safe!” Blue snapped. They were gathering a crowd. The combination of the siren and the pearls’ shouting had drawn people to their location.

 

“It was!” Forest said frantically. “I swear it was completely stable.” She turned to Sodalite’s pearl. “What did you do?!”

 

“Nothing! I swear!” Sodalite’s pearl looked like she was about to cry. Yellow Pearl stepped forward.

 

“Forest that’s unnecessary.” She said.

 

“She was the first one here!” Forest said.

 

“I-I was just in the area.” Sodalite’s pearl stammered.

 

“We don’t have time to blame each other!” Pink said. Red followed her quickly, already relaying what had happened to the growing crowd.

 

“Any idea how many were in that section?” Blue Pearl asked, looking around. Steven and Connie were there with the Crystal gems, Domina and Yellow Diamond had just arrived, both looked baffled, but squeezed their way to the front.

 

“Maybe ten gems total.” Red said. “That's all I can think of.”

 

“Eleven.” Garnet said. She adjusted her glasses slightly and Yellow Pearl thought she saw her cast a look at Domina.

 

“Are there any tethers available?” Moss Agate asked.

 

“No.” Pink said. “Nothing’s been repaired on that front.”

 

“Transport pod? We should be able to get close enough.” White said.

 

“All their components have been scavenged.” Yellow Diamond said, giving Forest a significant look. Forest had already gone pale and was now shaking. Feldspar hesitantly put a large arm around her.

 

“It should have been... frack, Mauve’s on there.” Forest moaned, obviously moments away from bursting into tears. Yellow Pearl glanced to look at Sodalite’s pearl who was going paler and paler.

 

“What happened?” Bismuth asked, elbowing her way to the front.

 

“The lower section detached, there are still gems on board.” White explained quickly.

 

“Eleven gems?” Domina asked. Yellow Pearl saw her slowly edging her way closer to the barrier.

 

“Eleven, four in the second room on the left, one in the corridor, two in Mauve’s chamber, and the rest just outside the breach.” Garnet said. The air around them stilled and then began to coalesce around Domina. Yellow Pearl’s eyes went wide as she recalled one of the many, many stories she had heard about Domina’s... antics over the years. Pink’s face in a flash went from thoughtful planning, to fear and horror.

 

“Domina, don’t you d-!” She began dashing towards Domina.

 

“Thanks Garnet!” Domina shouted, she quickly dove over Pink, yanking the air with her and rolling through the yellow barrier.

 

“NO!” Yellow Diamond yelled in chorus with Steven and Connie. Milky Quartz ran and grabbed ahold of Pink quickly, wincing as she was smacked in the face for her efforts to keep the pearl from leaping at the anti hardlight barrier.

 

“Come on Pinky, she’ll be fine. She does this like once every eight hundred years. She’s right on schedule.” Zee said.

 

“No she’s not!” Pink screeched. “If she survives this, I’m going to kill her myself!”

****

Space was loud when you had to fight its vacuum. Domina held tight to the protective sheath of air she had made for herself. It wasn’t really enough to breath, so she would have to be fast, but thankfully the section of the base hadn’t drifted to far.

 

She winced at the cold as she gathered the four gems outside. She couldn’t afford to focus too hard on who they were but could tell at the very least that they were pearls. She swerved to dodge a piece of debris then entered the section proper.

 

It was... quiet of course. There were no back up power cells in this part of the base, which wasn’t unusual. Areas like this were simply extra storage space. But Forest had been right, the connection to the main base had been sturdy. She didn’t have time to focus on the clamps that normally connected to the section, but she did notice that they were still there, and had no obvious damage done to them. She collected the gem in the corridor, one of the beta jaspers she thought. Then picked up the four peridots that had been in the nearby store room, schematics and similar floated nearby and Domina spent a few brief seconds trying to figure out how to corral them into her jacket pocket. The holofiche simply sped away from the wind around her keeping her body in equilibrium. She would have to apologize later.

 

She had been in Mauve’s chamber once before, very briefly, and when she entered it this time she immediately noticed the change. A large gouge had been torn through the blank spot in the middle of the wall’s mural. A broken engraver floating nearby gave an easy explanation for that, though who had caused it was a completely different question. A sapphire and pearl hung close together and Domina smiled uneasily as she collected them, hopefully this time she could make a better impression on Mauve’s components. Domina glanced again at the gouge in the wall. Something had happened here. Something... not good, but the ringing in her ears and the burning in her chest told her that she needed to leave, now.

 

She made her way back through the corridor and out of the ship. She could see people watching her through the barrier as she headed back. Domina smiled, she could already imagine the lecture she was going to get from Pearl about this. Shards, she would probably have Yellow on her side this time. Perfect. Steven was there too, he and Connie were at the front, nearby, Pearl and Mossy. She waved at them, then after a moment's thought, did a quick flip, just to show off, right into a hunk of rock. That was something she could normally shake off. But not when it distracted her, and forced all of the air that she had held so close, directly into the vacuum of space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, what a weird way to end a fic ;) jk see you Friday


	64. LXIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was mostly written on 4 cups of coffee in about 30 minutes and uh. despite the ridiculous amount of editing that had to be done to it (thanks squish) I think it's pretty good! let me know what made you laugh, I always enjoy that. Anyway! Enjoy the chapter, see you Monday.

Domina was reckless. Yellow Diamond had known this for centuries and she always blamed the human influence in her life. No diamond would act so rashly to retrieve a couple of handfuls of gems. And yet, Yellow had learned that this wasn’t even the first time she had done such a thing. This apparently was the first time that it had gone so horribly wrong.

 

Pink Pearl suddenly stopped fighting against the Milky Quartz and fell to her knees. They could see Domina outside, suddenly still and drifting along next to the chunk of debris she had run into. Yellow’s mind snapped into action.

 

“Steven, bubble yourself and Connie.” Yellow Diamond ordered, closing the distance to the control panel. The barrier override was relatively simple to access and reprogram but she didn’t know how long Domina had. “Amethyst, your whip.” She said. Amethyst snapped out of her shock and immediately summoned her weapon. Yellow Diamond tied the end around her ankle. One portion of her mind added tethers to the checklist for this stars-cursed base. “I need as much length as you can give me. Got it?” She said. Amethyst nodded once affirmatively. Maybe she was picking some things up from the zoo amethysts. Yellow Diamond checked briefly to ensure that Steven and Connie were safe then gave a once over the crowd.

 

“Hold on.” She ordered before slamming her hand over the panel and sending a shock through it, powerful enough to make the lights briefly flicker before the barrier fell. There was a woosh as the vacuum of space tried to claim the inhabitants of the base. Yellow Diamond lept into the vacuum heading straight for Domina only to come up short as Amethyst’s whip tightened around her foot. She glared back at the gem who gave her a panicked shrug. Said gem was already hanging half out of the base, with Garnet and the renegade pearl adding extra space. Yellow Diamond growled in frustration and focused all her energy into her arm and shoulder, letting her form return to normal, but only in one area. She grabbed Domina, taking hold of her entire body in one hand, trying not to think about how still she felt as she yanked the half human to her chest.

 

“PULL!” She yelled back as her arm shrunk to a more proportional size. Half a second later she was back inside the base. Forest slammed something into the panel. Overhead, a row of lights burst as the barrier was re-established and the area began to repressurize. Yellow Diamond set Domina on the ground and stared at her rooted to the spot. She looked... bad. Her face had swollen slightly and her skin had nearly gone purple. And she was still. Far too still. Yellow Diamond found herself pushed to the side and Pink Pearl rushed to Domina’s side.

 

“What do we do?” Moss Agate asked, her normally calm voice had already jumped to frantic. “Pink, what do I need to do?”

 

“I don’t know!” Pink snapped.

 

“What do you mean you don’t know? You’re the one that knows all this human stuff!” Zee said. The bubble around Steven and Connie had dropped.

 

“I mean, I don’t know!” Pink screamed hysterically.  “Stars, she’s not breathing, I don’t- I.” Connie was over in a second. She grabbed Domina’s wrist and held it with two fingers to the inside for a moment. Then looked at White Pearl.

 

“I need um... pure oxygen? Is there a source somewhere?” She said. Her voice was surprisingly calm.

 

“Yes there should be but why- OH!” White Pearl grabbed Forest who had been rooted to the spot by the shoulder and quickly relayed orders.

 

“Pink, ma’am,” Connie said, looking at the practically catatonic Pearl as she opened Domina’s jacket and moved it out of the way.

 

“What are you doing?” Pink asked.

 

“I’m going to get her breathing again, but she’s going to need a blanket, she has frostbite and is going to have to warm up slowly.” Connie said. How was she so calm? Yellow Diamond was clouded in a cloak of static, reminding herself that it would not help Domina if she dissipated everyone in the room because she couldn’t control herself.

 

“She knows what she’s doing, Pink, really...” Steven said, looking nervously at Connie. Tears were welling in his eyes. At least if Domina... failed to start breathing again they had a back up plan.

 

Connie seriously adjusted Domina’s head then placed both hands on her chest and started pushing on it.

 

“What are you...” Yellow Diamond began, baffled. Forest and White Pearl both came back lugging a canister and what looked like some kind of cup strapped to it hastily.  

 

“Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.” White Pearl said quickly. Connie was focused but Steven took the cup and held it nearby Domina, along with the blanket that Pink Pearl pulled out of her gem. The rest of the crowd stared on in horrified fascination. “It’s a procedure used to ensure that a human’s blood is properly oxygenated when their heart is improperly circulating it.” Connie paused from the chest compressions and breathed into Domina’s mouth. Yellow Diamond raised an eyebrow.

 

“And it actually works?”

 

“It should.” Connie said, her voice was still calm. She started the chest compressions again. The air was tense as Connie went through the motions again and again until finally, on her 4th cycle when Domina let out a sudden gasp. Steven quickly handed Connie the cup and she pressed it over Domina’s nose and mouth.

 

“Domina, breath, it’s ok. You’re in the base, it’s ok-” Connie began, only to be cut off when Pink Pearl quickly slid in between them to hug Domina.

 

“Ow, ow, ow, ma- _margarita qui nocet_!” Domina said. Yellow Diamond let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and Zee quickly hugged Connie.

 

“Sorry. Sorry.” Pink said, letting go. Domina opened her eyes, though it was hard to tell with the swelling around her face.

 

“Well that mostly worked!” She said, shouting through the mask. Moss Agate sighed. “Why do my ribs hurt?”

 

“Connie did cpr.” Steven said.

 

“What?” Domina yelled back.

 

“I SAID CONNIE DID-”

 

“She can’t hear you.” Pink said, she had calmed down and her relief was swerving towards irritation rather quickly actually.

 

“I can’t hear you Steven!” Domina said. “I burst my eardrums when I was-” She started to shout before dropping the cup connected to the oxygen tank and frantically patted her jacket.

 

“No, Domina, you needed to-”

 

“I forgot, I got everyone!” Domina said, wincing as she unsteadily got to her feet, in her hands were eleven gems which she handed over to Blue Pearl, revealing that her hand was also swollen.

 

“Shards! Domina, sit down before you-” Yellow Diamond’s oncoming warning was cut off by Domina collapsing to the ground “You irrational, reckless-!”

 

“Yellow, I know you’re yelling at me,” Domina said loudly. Despite the swelling, she was still able to give Yellow a pain filled grin. Steven had made his way behind her with his fingers in his mouth. “But I’m afraid your going to have to wait at least three months before my eardrums he-AUGH!” Domina screamed as Steven stuck both of his wet fingers into her ears. Amethyst fell over laughing next Yellow Diamond.

 

“That should do it.” Steven said, wiping his fingers on his shirt.

 

“Can you hear me now?” Yellow Diamond said calmly. “Because if not, I can speak up.” Domina sighed, then gasped for air momentarily. Pink handed her the cup and Steven wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.

 

“Thanks Steven... I think.” Domina said through the cup, then looked at Yellow. “Go on. Do you want to start with how reckless I am or how-”

 

“Domina. Shut up.” Pink Pearl said. If the room had been quiet before Domina had been revived, it was even quieter now. Domina paused mid breath and took off the impromptu oxygen mask.

 

“Pearl, I’m alright.” She said hesitantly.

 

“No you are not!” Pink snapped. “Domina, you weren’t breathing, you nearly died! What were you thinking!”

 

“I was trying to help! It went a little wrong but-”

 

“A little?!” Yellow Diamond snapped. “You almost died! You almost left me alone with all of this...” Yellow didn’t even know what word she was looking for, so settled for gesturing vaguely at everything around them.

 

“I did not almost die. I’m fine. See?” Domina stood again, then turned to look at her pearl with a wide grin. It lasted all of about 5 seconds before her eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted. Moss Agate caught her.

 

“Idiot.” She grumbled. Yellow Diamond sighed and turned away from all of this, the crowd parted for her. Of course, it always did. It took her a long moment to realize she wasn’t storming off alone.

 

“What do you want, Amethyst?” She asked without stopping.

 

“Nothin’, just looks like you need to hit something.” The diminutive quartz said.

 

“That’s... not entirely a bad idea.” Yellow Diamond said.She was a little surprised, this was the first time Amethyst had spoken to her since... Well since their conversation in the diamond carrel. “Are you volunteering?”

 

“Yeah sure. Anyway, you still owe me a scrap from earth.” Amethyst grinned at her. “Just no cheating, I like this outfit.” Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes.

 

“I don’t cheat. I win.”

 

****

Domina woke up in her bed, in pain. Which unfortunately, wasn’t nearly as uncommon as it should be. Her ribs hurt and her skin still had a puffy and sunburnt quality to it. Thankfully, she wasn’t cold anymore. And her ear’s didn’t hurt! That was a good thing even if the process had been... gross. She sat up carefully and braced herself against the nausea. It would only get better if she got back to work. At least she hadn’t broken her legs or anything.

 

The ship was empty, not surprising. She had probably been out for a while, so everyone was busy. Which was nice in a way because it meant that no one saw her make her way painfully slowly to the exit. Zee and 9NY were sitting just outside, talking about something.

 

“So what did I miss?” Domina asked. The two of them jumped apart, and Zee grinned nervously.

 

“Oh nothing much, it's only been about ten hours. Good to see you up and about, Pebble.” Zee said.

 

“I'm certainly up.”

 

“My Diamond, should you really be moving after you had to be resuscitated?” Peridot 9NY asked, she also looked nervous.

 

“Probably not, but I should at least check in with Pearl, thank Connie, and I need to talk to Blue.” Domina said, pursing her lips. Then she stopped that because it made her face hurt.

 

“I uh...” Zee began before 9NY cut in.

 

“I'll go find them!” She said.

 

“Oh it's alright, I need to stretch my legs anyway.” Domina said, already starting down the ramp.

 

“No, no, it's no trouble, My Diamond!” 9NY said running off. Domina sighed and grinned ruefully at Zee.

 

“I hate it when she does that.” She said. Zee chuckled half heartedly and moved in front of Domina before she stepped off the ship. Domina looked up at her, confused. “Excuse me?” She asked.

 

“Why don't you just go back up in the ship, Pebble?” Zee said, she sounded very uncomfortable.

 

“Because I’ve been laying around for long enough.” Domina said, moving to step around her. Zee blocked her way.

 

“You still look like you've been through a grinder. Domina, you really should rest.”

 

“I'm fine Zee.” Domina said annoyed. “Now move. Please.”

 

“I uh... can't.”

 

“Why not?” Domina gritted her teeth, then stopped because once again, ow. Zee looked at the floor, then at the ceiling then finally looked at her. She grimaced like she was bracing for impact.

 

“Pearl said you weren’t allowed to leave the ship until she said so,”

 

“...What?!”

 


	65. LXV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 65? what kind of crazy number is that? especially when it should have happened on monday and not today... sorry about that. The burn out finally caught up with me. but I'm back now.. and wrote a ten page chapter. so that was fun. No Squish today so please bear with me in terms of grammar (though I do always take corrections to fix) This was a fun chapter to write, a lot of stuff happened in it and it kind of pulled us back on track for getting to homeworld. It's coming. I promise.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter, see you monday! For real this time.

“So... how did that conversation go?” Red asked as Pink returned to the surveillance booth.

 

“You couldn’t hear it from here?” Pink asked snidely, she slid into a chair next to Red.

 

The argument had been one of her and Domina’s few. And the diamond had only relented when Pearl pushed her over with a gentle shove from two fingers.

 

“I could not...” Red said gesturing to the security footage projected on her screens. “I’ve been busy, turns out the release, for some stars cursed reason, is in the blindspot of the security system.”

 

“Of course it is.” Pink sighed. She swore this day was going to leave her with fractures.

 

“Thankfully, I think I’ve been able to narrow it down to maybe two dozen gems that were at the very least in the area.” Red pulled up a selection of stills. They showed gems ranging from one of the rubies that drew on the walls in the upper corridors, to Garnet. “Of course half of them are poofed.” Red said glancing at the row of dormant gems on the table on the opposite end of the room. Each was carefully wrapped in something soft, whether it be a towel, or a star shirt.

 

Pink gently rubbed the setting of her gem in thought. This was... not good.

 

“What are the chances that it was a mechanical failure?” she asked, almost hopefully.

 

“Low.” Red said. “And even if it was... How would something that catastrophic make it past Forest? You know she’s probably the most vigilant among us about that kind of stuff.”

 

“I know but... it’s better than the alternative.” She didn’t want to think about what to do about a saboutur. She knew Blue was thinking along those lines. Blue was with Feldspar now, talking with some of the original members of the new rebellion. Talking with gems they knew they could trust. With so many new gems they should have established some kind guard to keep an eye on things. They should have done it earlier. The New Rebellion had grown without their supervision and it would only get bigger.

 

“It is... Don’t tell Forest that though.” Red said, then glanced at the Sapphire and Pearl pair that sat together in a white towel. “Maybe Mauve will know. When she gets back, or I suppose when either of them get back.”

 

Pink also looked at the fusion’s dormant gems. It did seem awfully convenient that the base section would just happen to  detach with Mauve aboard.

 

“I hope so.” She said.

 

****

 

Pearl had been angry at her before. After four thousand three hundred and some odd years, both of them knew exactly the cracks to hammer on. Then again Domina rarely had such a close call with death. The argument had been loud enough to draw a handful of watchers. Pearl sent them all scurrying away with nothing more than a sharp glare.

 

“I am not a child Pearl!” She had practically shouted at her, her legs had trembled and her headache like she hadn’t drank in days. Pearl had finally snapped. Her face went calm and she very firmly reached over and pushed Domina with two fingers. Domina fell backwards onto the floor.

 

“Then stop acting like one. Think things through for a moment.” She said crouching down to Domina’s eye level, not unlike how she had many times during Domina’s childhood. “Think of the consequences before you leap into danger, what would happen to... everything if you...” Pearl’s face had contorted to pain and fear for just a moment, then she sighed and shook her head. “And for star's sake, rest.” Pearl ordered helping Domina to her feet.

 

So she did. And she had to admit, after many, many drinks of water and another several hours of sleep she felt better. Much better. She was still unsteady on her feet, but at least she was able to change her clothes and sit up without feeling like she was about to faint, or vomit.

 

That did mean she was awake when Connie came in.

 

“Oh good you’re awake.” Connie said smiling relieved.

 

“I am!” Domina said with a grin that still hurt. “Thanks to you.” Connie blushed.

 

“I uh... I’m just glad that 5 years of CPR classes paid off. It’s the first time I’ve had to use it.” She mumbled. She crouched down in front of her bed and pulled out a stack of books.

 

“Well you have a one hundred percent success rate.” Domina turned her head to the side slightly to get a look at the books. “More school work?”

 

“Yeah, I’m just trying to stay of everyone’s way.” She said opening one of the books. Domina frowned.

 

“What do you mean? What’s going on?”

 

“Uh, Steven’s trying to do his thing with Lapis and Jasper and that’s been taking up most of his time. All the pearls have been... talking a lot they’re trying to figure out what happened.”

 

“That makes sense.” Domina said, “But why are you hiding in here?” Connie didn’t say anything for a long time. She focused on the page in front of her, occasionally making notes.

 

“I’ve spent so much time dreaming about going on amazing adventures with Steven and his family.” Connie said. She didn’t look at Domina. “And now I just...” She balled her fists and put them to her face. “After all this training , all these missions, I still feel like...” It took a few tries but Domina eventually pulled herself to her feet and made it over to where Connie was sitting.

 

“Like you should be prepared for this?” She asked. Connie nodded soberly.

 

“What am I even doing here?” She muttered. “This is way bigger than I could ever have imagined it to be. What can I even do? I’m just a human.”

 

“Well you’re fifty percent more human than I am. You’ve got that on me and Steven. Also without you I probably wouldn’t be standing- er sitting here.” Domina said “Plus haven’t you been helping Pearl train people?”

 

“Yeah, but anyone could do that.” She said. Domina raised an eyebrow. “They could!”

 

“I certainly couldn’t. And the other two options are really only... Amethyst and Garnet I think.”

 

“I guess.” Connie said. Domina patted her shoulder.

 

“It’s true. I’d rather have you here than not. If that helps.” Domina said. Connie laughed. And gestured to Domina’s purply skin.

 

“I think your biased.” she said

 

“Maybe a little.”

 

***

 

Yellow Diamond walked out of the room half a second after walking in.

 

“No no!” Steven attempted to block her way. “Yellow wait, come on, just give her a chance!” Yellow looked down.

 

“Steven I have more important things to do than talk to a... a...” Yellow glared back at Peridot 5XG “a clod about some half formed plan”

 

“Half formed!?” 5XG had hopped on top of the table. “You haven’t even bothered to listen to me about potential kindergarten system retrofitting.”

 

“And why should I!”

 

“Because I am far more educated on the subject matter than you will ever be!” Peridot shouted at her. Yellow Diamond raised a hand not even bothering to stop the sparking electricity. In response Peridot’s limb enhancer fingers formed a floating shield.

 

“Stop! Stop! Stop!” Steven said frantically moving between them. “Guy’s come on you don’t have to fight about this.” Yellow gritted her teeth and dissipated the lightning.

 

“I have no reason or desire to listen to you.”

 

“This could solve Homeworld's resource shortage!”

 

“Do you know how many peridots and colony managers have come to me saying they’ve ‘solved’ the resource shortage?” Yellow snapped. “There is no solving it!”

 

“How many of them have spent the better part of 2 years studying organic plant life and agricultural practices!?”

 

“None! Because it’s a completely archaic and unrelated process.”

 

“Guys, guys, you don’t have to yell.” Steven said.

 

“That’s a unmeasurable amount of chemical by product!” Peridot had pulled up a file. And practically flung it at Yellow Diamond. “The mineral inclusion that have appeared after initial plant species were reintroduced to a section of the alpha kindergarten are a vast improvement from what’s used when planets are reseeded for a second implantation!”

 

“What?” Yellow asked flatly, she snatched the file out of the air and quickly scanned the material. Shards. She sighed and rubbed her temples. “Fine. Explain. Now.” She ordered. Steven cleared his throat and looked at her pointedly. “Please.”

 

***

 

“Knock, Knock” Garnet said. Domina looked up from her screen and to the door way, it had been a day since her talk with Connie. She was able to walk around the ship for brief periods of time, and the sunburn was fading. But she was still weak and nauseous most of the time. Some radiation poisoning that she wasn’t going to mention to Pearl if at all possible.

 

“Hello.” Domina removed her visor and turned to look at Garnet. “Have you managed to avoid Pearl’s wrath for helping me?”

 

“Barely.” Garnet adjusted her visor and gave Domina a smile. “Her and Yellow Diamond both were not particularly happy with me.”

 

“Well was there really a better way to get those gems?”

 

“Perhaps.” Garnet said “But no other option was quite as guaranteed to be a success.” She paused. “Though the flip was unexpected.”

 

“That part was not my best idea.” Domina said with a small smile.

 

“No.” Garnet said. “Bismuth said you and her talked.”

 

“We did.” Domina said, her smile quickly disappearing. “She knows now. Though I don’t know how badly I messed it up.”

 

“I... believe everything will be fine.” Garnet said.

 

“Future vision?” Domina asked.

 

“No, I just know.” Garnet folded her legs on the bed across from Domina. “Now, Stevima.” Domina blinked, that was not the way she thought the conversation was going to turn.

 

“What about them?”

 

“They’re not nearly as stable as they could be.” Garnet said.

 

“Well, I have only fused three times total.” Domina said frowning. “It’s not really one of my specialties.”

 

“No it’s not. But that’s not where the issues lie.”

 

“It’s not?”

 

“No.”

 

“Well then what is?” Domina asked exasperatedly.

 

“You tell me.” Garnet said. “Both Sunstone and Stevima have the same issue, they begin to split apart as emotional issues arise.”

 

“Yes and from what I understand Ruby and Sapphire aren’t much better.”

 

“That is true.” Garnet nodded. “But I generally speak with my own voice.”

 

“I... yes. That is true.” Domina sighed. “I just like being me!”

 

“Me too.” Garnet said with a smile. “But sometimes you still have to know when to let go. And trust that you’ll be yourself by the end.”

 

“... Do you know that for sure?” Domina asked. She hated asking for the input of sapphires, it typically ended up affecting a situation to the point where it actually made it worse. But stars, what she wouldn’t give for some idea of what happens next.

 

“Yes.” Garnet said. “Don’t need future vision for that either.”

 

“What about...” Domina paused and half expected Garnet to answer the question she had been running over in her head for the past few minutes. She thought about Stevima brushing away the static from Jaspers memories, and about coming undone mid healing. It was all like pieces to a puzzle.

 

“Also, yes.” Garnet said, “Remember though, deep seated wounds leave scars. Even in gems”

 

***

 

Talking to Yellow Diamond about her Datolite withholding information was a lot less stressful in practice. The most terrifying part of the experience for Blue Pearl was the moment where Yellow Diamond looked absolutely livid.

 

“How dare she,” She muttered. “Ungrateful shard of coprolite.” She shook her head and nodded to Blue Pearl. “Thank you for telling me, Blue. I will have a word with her.”

 

Later when she and Yellow Pearl were walking away with a set of plans for the network of maintenance tunnels, ones that had been left off the public files, it finally dawned on her what had dissipated the fear from her.

 

“She called me Blue.” Yellow Pearl blinked at her confused.

 

“Everyone calls you Blue.”

 

“Well yes but.” Blue Pearl sighed. “She didn’t say it like I was Blue Diamond’s pearl and she was dismissing me.” Yellow smiled slightly, though there was a hint of bitterness underneath.

 

“You’re not Blue Diamond’s pearl, You haven’t been for a long time.” She said. 'But I'm still Yellow Diamond’s Pearl,' came to Blue's mind, though the words were unspoken.

 

“What are you planning on doing after all this?” Blue Pearl asked as the rounded the corner into the empty security booth. Yellow Pearl stopped in the door.

 

“What do you mean?” Yellow asked. “The same thing I’ve always done.”

 

“Considering the drafts Domina sent me yesterday that might not be an option.” Blue said gesturing to the drafted set of laws releasing pearls from ownership. Yellow bit her lip.

 

“Right.. Well surely my diamond will still need some assistance.”

 

“You’re really going to stay with her?” Blue asked skeptically.

 

“Well what do you propose I do Blue?” Yellow asked. She collapsed into a chair, her back not ramrod straight like it had been for the millenia they had stood side by side each other. She tilted her head in question.

 

“Well.. there will be a place for you here if you want.” Blue said “Not here but... in whatever we become.” Before the accident, Yellow Diamond and Domina had met again with the New Rebellion leaders to discuss exactly what the group would be doing after all this was over. Yellow Diamond mentioned multiple times how there was no need for them to stick around, but Domina had been a proponent of them acting as a kind of guard, to make sure everyone was being treated fairly in the turbulent days that were to come. After all the real work had yet to begin.

 

“With you?” Yellow asked. Blue paused. Well that was almost unspoken wasn’t it? They hadn’t always physically been together but... they were the closest of the diamond’s pearls.

 

“Of course.” She said. “If your not sick of me by now.” 

 

“Well I will have to think about that.” Yellow said with a smirk. “After all, you did just recently decide I was trustworthy enough to trust with the oh so important secret’s of the New Rebellion.” Blue Pearl sighed.

 

“You’re never going to let me forget that are you?”

 

“Never.”

 

***

 

She was getting better by the time Yellow Diamond finally decided to visit, almost a week after the accident.

 

“What in star’s name are you doing?” Yellow asked. Domina turned slowly to avoid disrupting the stacks of carefully organized holofische she had spent most of the day putting together.

 

“Well, I finished amending the laws regarding pearl ownership and off color standards and treatment.” She paused and gingerly stepped over a few stacks and picked two other holofische up. “There are copies for you to look over by the way.” She handed them to Yellow who stared at her dumbstruck. “And then I decided to go through everything else. Everything's been separated out.” She gestured to the piles. “Three piles, for each major law section, one to throw out, one to keep intact and one for those that simply need re written.” She turned back to Yellow “It’s a mess now I know, I need to condense the piles, but I just finished initial sorting. Wait there, I’ll make you a path.” Domina opened her visor and brought up the keep stack closest to her, this one concerning the division of gems  pre and post emergence. A quick tap and the stack condensed as its own file and immediately transferred to her visor’s storage.

 

“How long have you been working on this?” Yellow asked.

 

“Well parts of it for the last year and a half, the bulk of it this week” Domina said moving to the next stack. “Though all this I just did today.”  There was a rustle of holofische as Yellow picked up one closest to her.

 

“Domestic law, 73.962, Criminals whose records have been on file for an excess of 4 millen- Domina this is the one you used to keep us from taking the crystal gems.” Yellow Said.

 

“It is, please put it back.” Domina said without actually looking at her, she was about half way across the room now. “I shouldn’t have used it in the first place.”

 

“What do you mean?” Yellow asked, setting the fische back down.

 

“It’s an extraneous law that only supports Domestic law 73.900 which...” Domina trailed off. This was a conversation she really hadn’t wanted to have. She collapsed a few more stacks before Yellow finally got impatient.

 

“Which, what, Domina?” Yellow asked. Domina finished clearing the stack on her bed and turned back to Yellow.

 

“Which is one of many domestic laws that leans sharply in favor of the white court.” Domina said. She watched Yellows expression for any signs of rage that might undo five hours worth of work. Yellow closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

 

“Of course it does.” She said.

 

“Most of that section is just being thrown out, the remainder is being rewritten.” Domina said awkwardly. She finally made it to Yellow.

 

“...thank you.” She said. Domina shrugged.

 

“Most of it hadn’t been referenced in court in ages. I just thought it would be better to remove them from the system entirely.” Domina said.

 

“Probably.” Yellow Diamond said. She opened her own visor and handed Domina a file. Domina recognized the writing style in an instant.

 

“THERE’S MORE!?!” She shouted, loud enough to disturb a few of the more precariously balanced stacks. She sighed. “Frack, of course there’s more.” She muttered going over the the stack and trying to reorganize them. Yellow Diamond sat on Domina’s bed.

 

“There is.” She said. “These... talk of the time before even the early empire was established.”

 

“Oh?” Domina asked bitterly through pursed lips, she collapsed the piles around the door. “Lovely, anything noteworthy?”

 

“Where gems come from.” Yellow Diamond said. Domina froze, and turned to look at her.

 

“No...” she gasped, eyes going wide. “You’re joking.”

 

“I am not.” Yellow said.

 

“Well... shards that’s amazing. It was here the whole time?”

 

“It was.”

 

“You sound thrilled.” Domina said

 

“Yes, absolutely, nothing I like more than being lied to.” Yellow said bitterly. “I thought she would have at least trusted me and... shards, between this and the laws and...”

 

“...I know.” Domina said, she hesitated for a moment then finally leaned forward and hugged Yellow. “Finding out how much was kept from us... hurts but... we can fix whatever problems that causes.”

 

Yellow didn’t respond for a long moment, then awkwardly patted Domina. There was an awkward cough from the door and Yellow stiffened immediately. Domina sighed and turned around, then blinked when she saw Bismuth in the doorway, holding a bundle.

 

“Hey String Bean...” She said awkwardly, eyes darting nervously to Yellow. “You... uh... look a lot better.”

 

“I... feel a lot better.” Domina said evenly. Bismuth’s body language didn’t seem hostile. “What can I do for you?” She asked, trying to keep the peace for as long as possible. “If you’re looking for Steven, I think he’s with Connie and Pearl, er, well the Crystal Gem Pearl.”

 

“Nah nah.” Bismuth said. “I uh...” She held the package out to Domina. “I wanted to ...apologize for not believing you, when you said you were different.” Domina carefully took the package, she opened a corner to see a plain grey breastplate. It felt light, and under it were bracers and greaves. All together they barely weighed more than her own clothing.

 

“Oh, you didn’t have to-” Domina said, Bismuth held up a hand.

 

“No, most upper crusts wouldn’t ever bother going after gems that get sucked into vacuum. I’ve seen it, barely expect that of them, definitely not of a diamond.” Bismuth said. “Besides, that ought to protect you better next time you try to flip into an asteroid.” Yellow Diamond snorted.

 

“Thanks Bismuth.” Domina said. “Sorry for not telling you initially.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. I would have probably denied you some bismuth over it.” Bismuth said with a grin.

 

“I mean you would have been completely in the right to- oh.” Domina stopped mid sentence. “Bismuth sounds like business. That’s funny.” Bismuth stared at her for a second and shook her head.

 

“Alright String Bean, I think space fried your brain.” Bismuth said.

 

“No.” Yellow Diamond said with a sigh. “She’s always like that.” 


	66. LXVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd cause I'm bad at timing, and a little long because I don't know when to quit! Oh lord this chapters a long time coming. just.... tell me what you think. ok? thanks.
> 
> see you friday.

“Ok, Ok, run that by me again Dom.” Sabina said. “How in the he... ck did you manage to keep from exploding?” The pink haired human stared incredulously back at Domina through the screen Steven was holding. Steven had come in looking for White Pearl and instead found Domina. In the background she could see Greg and Connie’s parent’s peeking around the edge of the screen.

 

“I simply regulate my internal air pressure as well as the immediate external air pressure. Like holding a piece of papers in between your hands.” Domina said. Sabina blinked at her before shaking her head.

 

“How did you even... nevermind.” Sabina said.

 

“Domina, when you get back uh... planetside why don’t you come see me at the hospital. I’d like to run some tests.” Dr. Maheswaran said.

 

“Oh I’m sure I’m fin-”

 

“I think that would be an excellent idea, Doctor.” Pearl said walking in. Domina made a face. “Steven, if you’re looking for Connie and White I just saw them in the training room.” 

 

“Oh! Thanks Pink!” Steven said before taking off. Pearl hadn’t been around the ship much over the last week, except to check in on Domina every few days.

 

“How do you feel?” Pearl asked her, she sat down across from Domina and inspected one of the fische she had left laying on the console.

 

“Fine.” Domina said ignoring the fact that her legs hurt and that she had just woken up from yet another nap when Steven walked in. “Perfect in fact.” Pearl gave her a look that was carefully cultivated through four thousand six hundred and thirty three years of listening to nearly the exact same lie.

 

“Domina.” Pearl said seriously.

 

“I’m tired and I ache but nothing worse than I normally deal with.” Domina said. Pearl nodded.

 

“That sounds more likely.”

 

“Does that mean I can leave the ship now?” Domina asked quickly, Pearl stared at her for a moment before sighing and shaking her head.

 

“Yes, yes of course.” She said, getting up. Domina leapt to her feet and threw her arms around Pearl.

 

“Thank you! I’m sorry I shouldn’t have been so reckless and I’ll never do it again!” She said. Pearl gave her an unamused frown that Domina’s cheery smile did nothing to alleviate. Domina’s smile disappeared and she let go. There was no brushing off this incident quickly. “I am sorry Pearl.”

 

“It’s...” Pearl stopped herself and pinched the bridge of her nose, then sighed. “Just please remember that we need you, we all need you.” and a reluctant smile broke the surface of her face. “And if I even hear about you being near the breach in the hull. You’ll be staying on the ship until we’ve reclaimed Homeworld.” 

 

***

Sodalite’s pearl had never once felt more guilty about her actions than when she was sitting in the security booth with Red and Yellow Diamond, across from the carefully wrapped dissipated gems. On Homeworld, dissipated gems were simply placed in their cubbies or on the desk of their superiors, depending on how much trouble they were in for the circumstances that had lead to them to being deprived of their form. 

 

Here though, they were important enough for the unfeeling gemstone to receive some illusion of comfort. One by one the gems had been reforming. None of them had the slightest idea of what had happened in Mauve’s carved room. It was only a matter of time before one or both of the fusions components reformed and Sodalite’s pearl was found out. She had to make a decision. Quickly. 

 

***

Tracking down 9ZQ was harder than Domina thought it would be. Usually Zee could be found in training rooms or with other quartzes or annoying the silt out of Mossy. Domina had almost lost the nerve to implement her plan when she quite literally ran into both Zee and Peridot 9NY. 

 

“Oh, Zee excellent!” Domina said. 

 

“Are.. you supposed to be off the ship pebble?” Zee asked.

 

“Yes yes I was cleared by Pearl.” Domina said, she smiled at 9NY and briefly wondered what they were doing all the way up here.

 

“Ah, I see.” Zee glanced at 9NY then back at Domina. “Well... could we talk?” She asked. That made Domina hesitate before she blurted out her request.

 

“I... was going to ask you the same thing.” She said.

 

“Oh!” Zee said quickly “Well you go first then.” 9NY closed her eyes and sighed in something that sounded like resignation.

 

“No no..” Domina said, curiosity piqued. “Go ahead,” Zee paused, took a deep breath, and looked for all the world like she was about to launch into a long winded and long rehearsed speech, only to be cut off by her own hand flying to her mouth. “Oh.” Domina said, glancing uncomfortably at the warped gem at Zee’s arm. “Maybe I ought to go first then.”

***

“It was not a mechanical failure!” Forest walked into the security booth with the widest smile Yellow Diamond had seen on her since the accident. Though it may have been more accurate to say ‘ever’ Forest was definitely not the most emotive of the pearls.

Red on the other hand looked panicked.

 

“Forest that’s not a good thing!” she said sliding aside the screen where her and Yellow Diamond had been working out what needed to be broadcast from White Diamond’s logs.

She replaced it with the frame by frame breakdown she had been working on, trying to figure out who had been in the vicinity of the section release.

 

“It means I did my job!” Forest said sliding into the chair that had recently been vacated by the pearl that they had picked up at the zoo. She had left, no doubt tired of listening to her and Red debate paragraph wording and comma placement.

 

“It also means that it was done deliberately!” Red rubbed the setting of her cheek gem nervously. “We’ve increased security but we don’t want to put the base into lock down.”

 

“Why not?” Yellow Diamond asked. Isolating the threat was the best solution to their problem, and the quickest.

 

“We still don’t have any idea who it would be, if Mauve were back maybe.”

 

“You shouldn’t wait around-”

 

“I know!” Red snapped, then went dark with embarrassment. “Sorry, sorry.”  Yellow Diamond sighed and rolled her eyes.

 

“Whatever, do it your way.”

***

Physically, Domina sat cross legged in front of Zee and 9NY. Her eyes were closed, and her gem glowed brightly. 

 

Around her, within the blackness of the mindscape, were memories, spread out as they always did. She had collected them, pulling together the ones that were covered in a static that blocked out the semblance of what they were, leaving the emotions of pain, heartbreak, fear... and love. Domina selected one and tried to scrape away the static. 

 

She was left with a warped memory and an arm that tingled like she had hit her ulnar nerve on a counter.  That was almost enough to make her panic, she couldn’t damage her friends memories further. But she collected herself. This was something she could fix. 

 

She thought back to Jasper, and this time was gentler. She wiped at the static of another memory, carefully polishing it until the static slowly cleared, like wiping snow off the side of the Styx.

 

And beneath the static was the face of a pale green Prasiolite. A clerk. Her story rushed out of the memory, one of the White district libraries, a disturbance and a chance encounter. And then a chance encounter that kept happening. A light lilting laugh with snorts that just made her that much more charming. Domina shook her head and let go of the memory, it floated back into position. She took the next one. 

 

Each layer revealed something new. Each memory resumed its place, telling the story of this Prasiolite and Zee. Simple gestures to show affection and love from across crowded rooms and moments stolen in silent corridors. 

 

Then she worked back to the one she had warped. This time the static cleared easily, leaving a smeared mess. Domina coaxed it back together, like forming a snowball. And she felt heartbreak, heard shards clattering to the ground. Despair hit her like a brick and the image that looked back at her was the impassive face of her mother. The blaming eyes, the feeling that this was all her fault and that she had been reckless and that if she had only done her job and kept to herself she wouldn’t have this pain now.

 

A bitter thankfulness for an altered second chance, was combined with desire to fall apart and let her own gem crumble, to intermix with the pale green shards at her feet.

 

Domina pulled her mind out of the memory and saw it drift to join the others just as the darkness began to fade and her wet eyes met Zee’s relieved expression.

 

“Oh pebble.” She said, and no more words came out before Domina launched herself at the quartz to hug her. Zee held her for a moment, but Domina could feel the relief falling off of her. “Uh,” Zee said, “If... that explains something to you then maybe...” She looked back at Peridot 9NY and nodded. “I’d- we’d like you to meet someone.” She said letting go of Domina and standing. A brief dance later a familiar face stood in front of Domina, a warped gem on her left arm, four legs and a nervous smile.

 

“Oh.” She said, laughing in realization and in hindsight of how oblivious she had been. “Hello, Tourmaline. Good to see you again.”

***

Soon. Soon. She had to make a decision soon. Sodalite’s pearl paced outside the security booth, plans and explanations rolling over and over in her mind. What could she possibly do?

 

If they found her out she’d be shattered no doubt. And If she turned herself in? Well... maybe shattered there too. And if she waited for the fusion to reform? Same outcome. 

 

She could get rid of the fusion, throw the gems into the pit that surrounded the power generator, the height would shatter even the sapphire by the time they hit the bottom. And it might be just far enough to keep any pieces from crawling back up. 

 

She should have turned the base in the first chance she had. She should have ended this game before she got sentimental. 

This what her Sodalite had always derided agents for. They got to close, allowed their defect to come to the surface, allowed themselves to feel pity or admiration for those they were infiltrating. They rarely were allowed to live. Rarely did they redeem themselves by giving up their traitorous allegiances.

 

The door to the security room swung open and all three of its former occupants exited. They paid her no mind. She slipped in without a word. She had to redeem herself. Only Blue Diamond and the empire could save her, it was the only thing that could make this right, that could put her back in her place, in safety and assurance that she would survive this turbulent point. 

 

It was an easy matter to open up an exterior broadcast channel. Especially if you didn’t care about remaining secret. Almost immediately she was face to face with a Peridot wearing a Blue Diamond.

 

“What?” The peridot said incredulously. “Who do you belong to? Who told you to access this channel?”

 

“I belonged to... I am the pearl belonging to Sodalite 0B8Q Cut 0AV.” She stammered out, for once in her life, unsure of what to do with her hands. “I need to speak with Blue Diamond immediately.” The peridot looked at her unimpressed.

 

“Uh huh, well I’ll put you on hole, your 612th in queue.” she said. Sodalite’s pearl didn’t have that kind of time. They could be back any moment.

 

“This is an emergency! I need to speak with her now! M-My Sodalite will be very angry to hear she’s gone ignored.” Sodalite’s pearl said. The peridot glanced briefly behind Sodalite’s pearl and rolled her eyes.

 

“I’m sure, it’s so important she left a pearl to do it.”

 

“I... I’m serious!” Sodalite’s Pearl was shaking where she stood. The Peridot laughed. 

 

“And I’m an emerald. Wait your turn if you think this jokes worth seeing through.” She said moments before the screen went blue, displaying the number 612. Sodalite’s pearl groaned in desperation, clutching the sides of her head, pulling simultaneously on her hair and her gem. No. NO. NO! She had to do this! Quickly! She slammed at the keyboard and kicked and swore. And the screen changed.

 

_ Enter your access number for Direct Diamond Communication Line _

 

Sodalite’s pearl stared at the screen for a moment. Sodalite had one. She knew it, she had to. The keyboard swam in front of her until finally she stabbed at a number, then another then a third and the screen went dark.

 

“Please be right, Please be right.” She murmured. 

 

As if in answer a chime played. The screen went blue, then white and Sodalite’s pearl was confronted with visage of the lustrous Blue Diamond.


	67. LXVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter did not end where I wanted it to but man guys, I was so caught up in writing Blue Diamond being scary that I went a bit long. Squish makes a triumphant return as beta here! I hope you like this chapter and also mondays cause... we're heading into end game folks.

“What is the meaning of this?” Blue Diamond’s voice was clipped. Sodalite’s pearl immediately saluted.

 

“M-my Diamond, I apologize for the intrusion.” Sodalite’s pearl said. Blue Diamond’s newest form was, if anything, more intimidating. And clearly she had interrupted, as if Sodalite’s pearl wasn’t already toeing a dangerous line. “I am the Pearl belonging to Sodalite Facet 0B8Q Cut 0AV.” Blue Diamond raised an imperious eyebrow. “I have a report concerning a b-base that was stolen from the Empire by a rebellious faction I-”

 

“How?” Blue Diamond interrupted. “Your Sodalite was instructed to take control of the Human Zoo and begin the process of retrieving Yellow and White Diamond from the Earth.”

 

“I... yes, she was your lustrousness.”  Sodalite’s pearl shifted uncomfortably, “But several weeks ago, there was an incident.”

 

“What sort of incident?” Blue Diamond held her gaze, as if daring her to look away. Sodalite’s pearl looked at the floor instead.

 

“Together, with the remnants of the Crystal Gems and members of a group calling themselves the ‘New Rebellion’, White Diamond and Yellow Diamond stormed the base, neutralized all gems loyal to yourself and released the rose quartzes from their bubbles.”

 

“If they neutralized all loyal gems then how did your Sodalite escape that fate?”

 

“She... did not.” Sodalite’s pearl pulled her hands to her front, gripping them tightly. “I was spared for not being an obvious threat, I have been collecting information on the New Rebellion-”

 

“On whose orders?” Blue Diamond interrupted. Sodalite’s pearl flinched.

 

“Un-under the direction of m-my Sodalite, My Diamond.”

 

“Your Sodalite gave you orders during an unexpected incursion at the human zoo, knowing that they would leave you alone?”

 

“Well she uh- thought that perhaps-” Sodalite’s pearl could see her lie falling apart. But why? It wasn’t even that important.

 

“Did she have forewarning about the attack? Enough forewarning to give you instructions but not to request back up so that the other two diamonds could be captured?” Blue Diamond asked. Sodalite’s pearl looked at her surprised. Sodalite would have never, she may have been over-confident at times but to not report the chance of an incursion... That was bordering on treason.

 

“No, My Diamond, of course not! She was caught off guard, completely,” Sodalite’s pearl rallied to her gem’s defense.

 

“And yet she gave you instructions?”

 

“Ye-”

 

“Do not dare to lie to me Pearl.” Blue Diamond snapped

 

“...No, My Diamond, I acted of... my own accord.” Sodalite’s pearl said, she felt the weight of the diamond’s stare bearing down on her. “But I have the location of the base, My Diamond. It’s within the Omega Quadrant, roughly the ninth parallel, third axis and the second vector. You can easily have the other Diamonds captured!” She forced herself upright, putting on a smile, trying to work her way back into the matriarch’s charm. “This New Rebellion is mostly composed of off colors and pearls. Surely with the Empire’s forces they can be quickly dealt with.”

 

“Surely.” Blue Diamond said, a screen appeared next to her and Sodalite’s pearl stood in front of the screen in silence. She was shaking, she didn’t know why. She was doing what had to be done. “Remind me, Pearl, you were given to 0AV as a reward for her efforts on Tanstem 4. Correct?”

 

“Yes, My Diamond.” Sodalite’s pearl said nodding. 

 

“A reward, not as an agent as I remember.” Blue Diamond folded her hands neatly in front of her. Sodalite’s pearl’s eyes went wide.

 

“My Diamond, as I said I acted of my own accord. I-I knew I had to do something to-”

 

“You knew?” Blue Diamond’s words were still soft, but they had taken a sharpness to them. “You knew that you had to betray your purpose and fall in with these rebels?”

 

“My Diamond, I assure you I have been nothing but loya-”

 

“I told you not to lie to me.” Blue Diamond leaned forward in her seat. “You sought your own glory in this. Or do you think yourself capable enough to lay a trap?”

 

“No of course not, My Diamond,” Sodalite’s pearl drew her hands to her chest, holding them clutched in front of her. “Please I was simply trying to help! What else was I to do? My Sodalite-”

 

“Will be reprimanded for failing to keep her Pearl under control.” Blue Diamond made another note on the screen.

 

“She had nothing to do with this!”

 

“Which is the reason she will escape being shattered, this time.” Blue Diamond’s voice had gone harder, pushing back out of the screen with such force that Sodalite’s pearl almost fell to her knees. Her eyes were starting to water. Her gem was hot against the side of her face, hot enough that it hurt. This wasn’t supposed to be how this happened.

 

“That’s not fair! She-”

 

“And who are you to decide what is fair?!” The screen around Blue Diamond went blue and Sodalite’s pearl could almost feel the anger rolling off of her. “You! Are! A! Pearl! You are nothing!” Blue Diamond’s eyes closed and slowly the blue around her faded. She opened her eyes again, her face the picture of a calm and controlled diamond. “However, as a reward for your service, you will not be brought back for trial. I will instruct the soldiers to shatter you directly, with the rest of the defective gems.”

 

The screen instantly went dark, leaving Sodalite’s pearl staring at her own reflection. Her knees buckled underneath her as she felt a pain of agony and horror go through her gem. What had she done? What had she even been thinking? Of course Blue Diamond would reject her! Stars, how could she have been so stupid? How could she have possibly thought that she could redeem herself in the eyes of the Empire? She was just a pearl. 

 

She should have been thankful for being spared by Yellow and White Diamond, allowed to stay fully formed and walked around free. She should have been grateful that the New Rebellion took her in without question. Grateful that they asked after her well being. Grateful that they took time to teach her to fight, that they included her in life on the base. 

 

She should have never considered betraying them. She should have turned herself in when confronted by Mauve. She should have... 

 

Sodalite’s pearl staggered to her feet. The console was in front of her still. The button for a base-wide alert system sat in the upper left hand corner. She should have turned herself in long ago, before she started down this path. 

 

Hopefully now, it wasn’t too late.

 

***

The alarm was not preceded by a base-wide tremor or loud roar. There was no pinging of pipes or sudden decompression to follow either. One moment, Yellow Pearl was looking up at Blue Pearl through her shield, attempting to redirect the axe that pinned her to the ground. The next, the entire training room was bathed in a red light, and sirens drowned out the buzz of conversation.

 

In their distraction, both gems dissipated their weapons, and Blue fell on top of her.

 

“What in star’s name...” Blue Pearl murmured as she untangled herself from Yellow. Behind her Yellow Pearl saw Domina  and Yellow Diamond both pause mid practice bout. Both of them looked at Blue. Blue ran out immediately, grabbing the side of the door to pivot herself around the corner. Domina beat Yellow Pearl to the door just barely, by pure virtue of having literal wind at her feet. And behind her, as they sprinted through the corridors, was Yellow Diamond.

 

Red beat them all to the security booth. And seconds before Yellow Diamond piled in behind the Crystal Gems they picked up along the way, the alarm stopped. Yellow Pearl stood next to Pink amongst the Crystal Gems and her Diamond. Just in front of her was Blue. By the console, hand still hovering over the button, was Red. And staring at all of them from the corner of the room was Sodalite’s pearl.

 

“What happened?” Steven got the words out before anyone else. Red turned to the screen and pulled up a stream of data.

 

“I...I’m sorry.” Sodalite’s Pearl said. Yellow Pearl stepped forward a sinking feeling forming in the core of her gem. 

 

“Why?” She asked, she had been the one to drag this pearl to their cause, and hadn’t she thought it was such a great thing to do. Everyone deserves a choice, that’s what Blue had said. But something about the desperate, apologetic look Sodalite’s pearl was giving her made her think that perhaps Yellow had made the wrong one. From the console, Red gasped, confirming her suspicions. Not good.

 

“What?” Blue asked.

 

“There... was a...” Red turned to Sodalite’s pearl aghast. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

 

“What? What did she do?” Steven asked frantically.

 

“I... I contacted my- Blue Diamond.” Sodalite’s pearl said. 

 

“WHAT?!” Yellow Diamond shouted from the doorway. 

 

“I was trying to help my Sodalite!” Sodalite’s pearl said, she ran into the wall trying to escape from the Diamonds’ near palpable rage. “She was tasked with bringing you two back to Blue Diamond. And I... I... I was going to contact her earlier, but I couldn’t find a chance, so I tried to sabotage everything with the jasper, and then I got caught up in everything that was going on, but then Mauve said she knew, but I was scared that you... would... that... I’m so sorry.”

 

Domina stepped forward. “So Sodalite, she, ordered you to spy on us for her?” Yellow Pearl closed her eyes, it would almost be better if that was the case. Stars, if it was an order it would almost be forgivable.  

 

“No, I...” Sodalite’s pearl stared at the ground. “I did it by choice.” The room was already so tense with shock that Yellow Pearl didn’t notice the winds gathering at first. But she saw Pink’s eyes go wide with... something almost like fear. Domina raised a hand, and in a motion so quick that the air snapped, the pressure converged on Sodalite’s pearl. Her form instantly collapsed, leaving a blue pearl hovering mid air, still suspended by the winds. Yellow Pearl looked at White Diamond and saw that her face had gone completely calm. Yellow Diamond looked surprised but simply folded her arms.

 

“Domina!” Steven said. “What are you doing?”

 

“She betrayed us.” Domina said simply, her voice colder than Yellow Pearl had ever heard it. Pink had moved towards Domina slowly. “And not only that, she hurt gems that had no involvement with it. People got caught in the crossfire. If it had been simply me or Yellow that I could accept but no. She let Jasper out. She released a section of the base and nearly left eleven gems floating through the asteroid field.” 

 

“But that doesn’t mean that she should be... shattered.” Steven said. Yellow Pearl looked around, there were plenty of uncomfortable faces. Some were too panicked to be uncomfortable but no one was coming to the floating pearl’s defense, and she wasn’t sure she could. Domina didn’t look at Steven. Carefully Pink leaned forward and put a hand on Domina’s shoulder. Slowly the air pressure began to change and the blue pearl moved before dropping into Steven’s hand. 

 

“Watch her.” Domina said.

 

“We... we have incoming.” Red said. She wasn’t scared, her voice sounded more resigned. Yellow pearl looked at the screen and could see the quadrant radar on screen.  There were blips moving towards them, quickly. Enough of them that they looked like they outnumbered the asteroids within the field, Yellow cast another look around the group. They all were looking at Blue. Blue had squared her shoulders and let out a deep breath before looking at her with a small smile. Then she looked at the rest of the group.

 

“Well, let’s show them what we can do.” 

 


	68. LXVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof so. It's nearly 1 am, the plan was to have this up a lot earlier. A heck of a lot earlier. But life got in the way. Thankfully it seems like after all the stress of this summer I might finally have everything back on track. Thank you everyone, so much for your patience with my...slightly irregular update times. Especially with the (unbetad) chapter I'm leaving you with today. Oh boy.
> 
> See you friday.

Domina didn’t notice the preparations going on around her. She seethed with a rage that carried her through the motions. She was just barely cognizant enough to think to buckle on the armor Bismuth had made for her. Sodalite’s had threatened  _ her _ gems. She had endangered all of them! Domina had no illusions about the fact that this encounter wasn’t going to go well. They weren’t going to walk away unscathed, they might not even be able to walk away. 

 

But it all could have been avoided if she hadn’t been so fracking trusting. All she could think of as she stepped out of the hanger, moving past gems already taking up positions, was all the things she overlooked. Giving her ‘permission’ to wander the base, how she always hung around Yellow Pearl and consequently all of them,listening. How she was the first one on the scene of the base section detaching, how they found her in the hangar right after jasper had been released. If there was anything that had been drilled into her gem these last few months was that you couldn’t underestimate any gem, pearls most of all. 

 

***

It was easy to dream big about rebellion when your choking on your own tears. It’s quite a different thing to see a future hurtling towards you, nearly faster than you can put your plans into motion. Blue stared at the ships on the radar. She didn’t know what kind they were,the different ships within Homeworlds fleet were really not among her interests. But she knew enough to know that there was no way they could stand up to a force this large. Just outside the security booth she could hear the sound of gems panicking, of them running around trying to frantically find a place to take a stand. 

They needed direction. And that was her job wasn’t it? Blue Pearl tore her eyes away from the console and began to move towards the door, only to realize she wasn’t the only one in the room. Yellow Diamond stood at the door, hands behind her back, not unlike her pearl did actually. That thought kept the reflexive fear from rising to her face.

“A suggestion Blue,” Yellow Diamond said, “Shoulders back, head up and don’t let them see you’re afraid.”

“What?” Blue Pearl frowned confused.

“If your going to lead and prevent panic you need to project confidence, walking like a pearl doesn’t do that.” Yellow Diamond said, she gestured to Blue Pearls hands which were held in front of her. Something she hadn’t even realized she was doing. She let go of her hands and leveled her head, standing up straight. She pushed the emotions that she had fought for so long to regain, down. She could dwell on them later. 

Yellow Diamond smiled very briefly and nodded before turning to leave, she stopped in the doorway and looked back at Blue Pearl.

“I’m sorry your were wasted for so long in her shadow.” She said. Blue Pearl chuckled humorlessly. 

“I’m sorry your pearl stood for so long in yours.” She said. Yellow Diamond’s mouth quirked downwards but she nodded.

“Me too.”

***

The elite soldiers of the empire had been funneled into a single purpose after the betrayal of Yellow and White Diamond. They were to seek out dissent, to destroy gems still loyal to the previous Diamonds, and to retrieve said Diamonds from where ever they were hiding.

 

The moment the report was relayed to them from their lustrous diamond, the squad of obsidians had been dispatched along with a batallion each of amethysts, citrines, jaspers, and ametrine. The base located at the coordinates was old, too old for anything other than maintaining a homeworld presence on the edge of their borders. Though from what the soldiers understood it wasn’t even doing that. An entire base taken out by a group of pearls and off colors? There were whispers among the quartzes about the gems they had known that were stationed out here. They had to have already been especially useless to be put out in the middle of nowhere, more useless than the rest of White Diamonds former court. But to be taken out by pearls? That took a special kind of weakness.

 

There was a docking port open on the far side of the base. One group of Citrines would dock initially to sweep up any errant pearls and pitiful off colors who decided to cause trouble before the rest of the forces moved in to handle the two Diamonds.

 

The initial squad of Citrines stood by the door as it opened onto the hanger. Their weapons had been drawn though they weren’t holding them with any expectations of needing to use them. After all, it was just a bunch of pearls.

 

The hallways were long and dark. There wasn’t a gem in sight as they moved slowly towards the center of the base.

 

“Maybe they left?” One of the Citrines said, she was younger, this was really only her first assignment that wasn’t guarding an entrance on Homeworld.

 

“Nah there’s no way they knew we were coming.” Another, more experienced Citrine said. “They’re probably just holed up in a nicer section.”

 

“Think anyone would notice if we just grabbed one after they poofed?” Said another Citrine further down the line. Her squad mate gave her a playful shove.

 

“If you can keep your mouth shut about it and keep it away from the agate clod.” 

 

“Quiet.” The squad leader said holding up a hand. She poked her head around the corner. And relaxed when she saw a pale lilac pearl holding a ornate looking trident. “Hey there pearly.” She said with a sing song voice. She stepped forward and the pearl jumped to something like attention. She held the trident in front of her in a way that could almost be regarded as a threat, if it wasn’t for the fact that she looked so ridiculous clad in a leotard and tutu. Her hair was curled just so in a way that framed her face to make it look even more innocent.

 

“Don’t come any closer!” She ordered. The lead Citrine laughed.

 

“Or what, doll?” She asked stepping forward. She didn’t expect the trident to be thrust through her chest. She looked down at the weapon impaled in her chest in shock before her gem fell to the floor. The squad of Citrines looked down at their leaders gem, then back at the Pearl whose innocent and nervous expression had been replaced with a relieved confident smile. The pearl stared back at them.

 

“As I said.” The pearl aimed her trident at them. “Leave.” Two quartzes rushed her. She slashed and stabbed with movements that were basic but well practiced. Two more gems clattered to the ground seconds before  the remaining quartzes, now leaderless, rushed her.

 

Citrines later would comment on how long she held out, blocking and moving with such grace that another homeworld soldier would never possess. That is before one of the squad stabbed her in the back, just above her stomach gem.

 

Her gem fell to the ground amongst the citrines.

 

The quartz gems were picked up, to be returned to the ship. Her’s was crushed underfoot, into a smear of nacre and dust. 

 

The Quartzes marched on, weapons held firmly, with none of the light chatter from before.

 

***

In the past when the fleet had run into troubles Domina always had sent a pair of quartzes, or sometimes just 9ZQ to make sure Pink Pearl made it to the ship. There she waited in barely restrained panic until Domina stumbled on board, usually hurt, always with stragglers that would have just been left behind.

 

This time she stood next to Moss Agate, with the Carnelian and Rutile Domina had befriended. Domina was in a different section. Out of sight, but atleast Pink didn’t feel helpless. From an alcove she trained her blaster on the door. Mossy did the same while the two other gems stood with a host of the zoo quartzes guarding the opposite exit. The sound of footsteps was getting closer.

 

The door opened and as if a single unit Citrines began to flood the room. Pink opened fire. The Citrines dodged out of the way, charging straight for the Rutile. They didn’t get very far before they found themselves intercepted by the rush of off color Jaspers, with a Carnelian brandishing a kama leading the charge. 

 

The quartzes obviously weren’t expecting this kind of resistance. There were cries of, “What in stars’ name!” and “Stop flipping around clod and fight like a quartz!” as the Citrines were beaten back.  Pinks triumphant smile was ripped from her face as she heard laser fire from her side. The side that was next to the outer hull of the ship. She could feel the inside of the wall growing warmer.

 

“Retreat!! She shouted into the room. She shoved Mossy out of the way and leapt away from the wall and dancing out of the way of a hand to hand fight between a Citrine and an off colour Jasper. “They’re coming through the hull retrea-” the words didn’t quite come out before a quarter sized hole appeared in the hull. 

 

Those closest to the hull instantly dissipated, their gems were sucked into the slowly growing hole, stopping the vacuum for reasserting itself for just barely long enough for Pink to get the door open.  Mossy tossed her through the door and wedged herself into the door, grabbing gems by what ever was closest and throwing them through. The hole grew in size and drew more gems to it that sealed the hole until it was too big and they shot off into open space. At that time Pink lunged and Mossy, pulling her the rest of the way through the door before she was suckked out. They fell in a heap, behind a sealed door. Mossy helped her to her feet.

 

“Keep moving back,” Pink said to the significantly smaller group. 

 

“Towards the hangar.” Mossy ordered glancing back at where they came from with a pained expression.

 

“It’s our only way off this thing.”

 

***

Yellow didn’t usually pay attention to individual gems. They weren’t worth her time. But the moment Blue called for a retreat she began looking around. Her Pearl was with Amethyst along with Holly Blue’s squad. Garnet and White Pearl were ahead of her at their last choke point with a squad of beyrls that had decided enough was enough. Steven and Connie fought back to back, fending off ametrines effortlessly as a team. Domina practically danced between opponents, keeping them busy so that the Bismuth could focus on the ones that posed the most threat. 

Feldspar was getting people through the door as they retreated, yanking those that didn’t come as ordered.

 

“No you cannot fight them!” She screamed at a particular eager Iolite “Get on a ship!”

 

It wasn't until the majority of the people were through the final door into the hanger that Yellow Diamond realized who was missing.

 

“Where’s Red, and Forest?!” She called across the hanger where Pink was already heading to the controls of the pink ship. In a mirror image, 8XJ had manned the controls of the secondary ship.

 

Blue whipped her head around, eyes going wide as she frantically looked over the gems  clambering aboard the ships present. 

 

“I don't know I haven't-” 

 

“Red ran back to the security booth and forest shouted something about helping lapis!” Feldspar shouted from her position.

 

“What? Why did she go back?” Domina landed suddenly next to her.

 

“I don't know!” Feldspar said. Another explosion rocked the base. 

 

“I'll be right back!” Domina said already running for the door.

 

“Oh no!” Yellow grabbed Domina's ankle “You are not going in there alone!”  Domina kicked at her, freeing her ankle.

 

“I'm not leaving them behind!” Domina snapped.

 

“And I'm not saying that we do.” Yellow Diamond strode towards where Feldspar was. She gathered lightning from the air, feeling it grow as palpable as the fear and panic that surrounded the gems in the hanger. “Open the door!” She ordered. Feldspar didn't even hesitate, shoving the door back open revealing half a column of quartzes. 

 

13 gems hit the floor and above the lights flickered and burst leaving the antechamber to the hangar dark. Domina's gem immediately glowed and she nodded to yellow diamond. 

 

“Forest will be on the lower levels,” Domina said, she was on the ground now, walking side by side with her, sword drawn. Yellow Diamond drew her staff. 

 

“Yes, I know what she's doing. Lapis is already outside.” Yellow Diamond said. Domina nodded. 

 

“ I'll go after Red. It will not take me long.” domina said. Yellow frowned at her. 

 

“You shouldn't go alone.”

 

“I'll be fine, you get Forest.” domina's face was set firm, she rose into the air as they came to the fork in hallway. 

 

“Domina.” Yellow said sternly. 

 

“Yellow.” Domina snapped. “Go get Forest! Anyone who gets in my way will regret it.” 

 

***

Domina’s mother, from what she understood, hadn’t really used her control over air. Which made sense. Gem’s didn’t need to breath and she was already sixty feet tall so it wasn’t like she needed to struggle to reach high places. 

 

For Domina though, it was first of her powers she ever gained control of. For flight yes, or to hold things aloft, but eventually  for more... destructive means. When she was younger Domina broke things accidently with bursts of excited, or upset, winds. She had learned to reign it in. Now though, She didn’t hold back. 

 

Quartzes of every color swarmed the base, all in blue uniforms and Domina felt all the rage inside her build up. A gale shot through the corridor dissipating gems in its direct path. Domina followed after it, ignoring her, ironic, shortness of breath and general headache. 

 

A trio of Ametrines stood outside the security booth, one of them working at the door to open it and swearing, loudly. 

 

“Excuse me.” Domina said standing, her sword held at an angle to her side. “I’m on a schedule.”

 

One of the ametrines smirked. “Oh I’m sure you do, Goshenite, got some papers to shuffle, do they make you gems do that for your own processing.”

 

Domina summoned a second sword.

 

“I’m not a Goshenite. Try Diamond, you clods.”

 

***

Yellow Diamond didn’t sprint through the lower decks. She strode through them, sending any gems lingering there clattering to the floor with a shock of rapidly weakening lightning. There was water leaking from the pipes running through the ceiling and banging from the maintenance room. Yellow threw open the door and immediately dodged a aligning tool thrown at her head.

 

“I’d like to see you find me! You Homeworld clods!!” Forest shouted from the ceiling.

 

“Forest, I don’t have time for this!” Yellow shouted into the room. “We need to go now!

 

“Oh thank the stars.” Forest said, she appeared from the ceiling, swinging on a pipe, her face was pale but regaining its color quickly. “Is Lazuli outside the base?”

 

“Yes. Let’s go so she can do her work.” Yellow said impatiently. Forest took another section of pipe and swung it at the water pipe that they had spent so much time fixing. The pipe burst after a few hits and Forest dropped to the floor. Running out of the room.

 

“Come on Diamond, move it!”  

 

***

Red barely looked at her when Domina entered the security booth. 

 

Lines of data rolled through the screen. Red was standing over her console, music blared as she watched a progress bar creep towards the end.

 

“What are you doing!?” Domina snapped. Red didn’t look at her, but she flinched.

 

“Transfering the data from White Diamonds logs.”

 

“We have copies!” Domina said, she glanced at the few of the screens that were still active. All of them had quartzes and obsidians swarming the base.

 

“They’re going to want to see the originals.” Red said, her voice was starting to crack as the last of the data transferred. “Homeworld won’t believe us otherwise, not when we tell them something so... drastic.”

 

“You really think they’ll dare question us?” Domina said, she felt, angry, so angry and stars above she wanted to hit someone. Red looked at her then, confused and then just a tad worried.

 

“I think it’s best to not give them a reason.” Red pulled the file storage device from her console and, after a seconds glance at the chaos outside, handed it to Domina. Domina put it in her pocket wordlessly. She took a breath, then opened the door for Red.

 

***

Going back to the main hangar took longer, their attackers had battered the station to the point that most of the lower levels weren’t safe to go through. 

 

“Hopefully they leave Lapis something to use.” Forest muttered, before shrieking as Yellow zapped a Jasper with the remainder of her strength.

 

“I’m sure she will.” Yellow muttered. They climbed aboard the pink ship and Yellow did her head count again. “Where’s Steven and Connie?” She asked immediately.

 

“With the famethyst on the other ship, they already left. Where is Domina.” Pink ssked. Her eyes had gone wide.

 

“She’s coming.”

 

***

“Stay behind me.” Domina said as they started through the corridors. Red nodded hefting a crimson mace clumsily. She moved quickly, they had already taken to long. She reluctantly had to agree with Yellow, there’s no way she could have gone after both pearls alone. 

 

The hallways that had been cleared were full again. Domina frowned and furiously tugged at the spot within her gem. The world around her went dark, memories swam before her and she ran them through with her sword. There was no precision to it, no keeping track of how much of the memories she took from each of them, just hacking at them, doing enough damage to make this all stop.  And in the end when that dark angry part of her was satisfied, she left go and listened with morbid enjoyment to the sound of gems clattering to the floor. She could feel Red staring at her in horror and Domina turned back to look at her with a smile she didn’t recall making. 

 

The sound of a blaster charging brought Domina back to reality. It made her remember why she had been careful with that platoon of jaspers in Homeworlds catacombs so many months ago.  She lunged for Red to knock her to the ground. But Red dodged to the side, one of her few well trained reactions. She still went down, clumsily. But not before a green bolt of blasted fire skidded of the curve of her gem.

 

Domina didn’t even think, she crushed the quartzes form behind her without looking. She was too focused on the spiderweb of charred nacre that seemed to be spreading the longer she looked at it.

 

Red didn’t scream but her eyes went wide, one of them going completely black as she drew a deformed hand to her gem. Domina felt her anger vanish immediately to make way for despair.

 

“No, no, no, Red, no.” She said trying to help the pearl to her feet. Red tried to help herself up and Domina could see her mouth moving but no sound came out. “This wasn’t, shards, frack.” Domina’s mind ran a mile a minute. They had to get to the ship, they had to get to Steven. He could fix this, Steven was better at fixing the diamonds screw ups than she would ever be. Domina picked up Red, and started running. 

She didn’t stop, not when rubble blocked the hallways and not when quartzes blocked the doors. Air blasts took out the gems, and the doors for the most part. She didn’t care how tired she was, she didn’t care how much her head hurt and her gem burned, she had to make this right, she couldn’t let the last look she had gotten from Red to be one of fear. 

 

She blasted through the doors of the hanger, she knew she heard gems behind her shattering and she just didn’t care, she barrelled onto the ship, yelling, screaming in a voice she only used sporadically to gain attention.

 

“Steven! I need Steven where is he?!” She felt the ship take off under her as she gently put down Red, or what was left of Red as her form slowly deteriorated. She heard words around her. Her name, something about another ship and “Oh Stars what happened?” and “Shards, no Red, don’t you fracking dare!” She heard more yelling, cheers from some gems at the windows as what had once been the base plowed through the fleet Homeworld had sent after her, as nothing more than a ball of metal and ice.

 

But nothing broke through the fog that had been created around her mind and senses, brought on by the weakness in her bones and the pain in her gem. Nothing except the feeling of Red’s shards, digging into her skin.

 


	69. LXIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter for friday, but I thought that might be alright cause you only have to wait 3 days for the next one. Beta'd by squish, though this was actually one of the better chapters. I uh... hope you like where we go next.

Pearls didn’t shatter like normal gems. Normally when you shattered a gem, they broke into shards, there was dust, yes, but there were still pieces that bear a resemblance to the original gem. When pearls were shattered, it was largely just dust. There may be some shards, just enough to cause an annoyance, though rarely were they big enough to actually attempt to form.

 

So when Red’s gem finally lost cohesion, the majority of it crumbled in Domina’s hands, falling through her fingers. Domina didn’t move, though neither did anyone else until Pink knelt next to Domina and took her hand carefully, pulling shards out of it and setting them gently into the pile of crushed nacre below. The previously jubilant crowd had gone silent when they realized what exactly had happened. 

 

Pink lifted Domina to her feet. But her face didn’t change, she still stared straight ahead, straight down, eyes open but not seeing. Pink led her from the room, glancing worriedly back at the others on the main deck of the ship. Yellow Diamond felt uncomfortable in the room, especially as Feldspar knelt over what had been Red. She followed Pink and Domina, not thinking about the cold pit growing within her gem. 

 

Pink either didn’t notice her or didn’t care, she took Domina to the bedroom and carefully sat the diamond down on her bed.

 

“What happened?” Pink Pearl asked softly, she retrieved something from her gem and dabbed at the hand. There was a stretch of silence before Domina spoke. Her voice was strained, and it rasped.

 

“I missed one.” She said simply. “I... I got sloppy. I lost control and she... I...” Domina’s eyes retained that far away glassy look.

 

“It could have happened to anyone.” Pink said, easing Domina’s arms from her jacket and setting it on the floor. Her voice was calm and Yellow couldn’t understand how it could be so calm. She felt like she was cracked. Like... like she had felt when Domina had been born, when Pink... 

 

“I should have done bet-”

 

“You did what you could.” Pink Pearl said firmly. She had managed to ease Domina to the bed, and pulled a blanket over her. “Rest.” She said, pressing her lips to Domina’s temple. “You did all you could.”

 

“I... but what if I-”

 

“Domina, please.” Pink said, her voice lost just a hint of the calm she had been speaking with.

 

“...I will, sorry Pearl.” Domina said, she turned to face the wall. Pink Pearl closed her eyes then turned to where Yellow Diamond was lurking awkwardly in the corner.

 

“Keep an eye on her.” Pink said, “If anything... odd happens let me know please.” Yellow nodded mutely before the pearl left. She took a few steps into the dark room and sat down on the bed across from where Domina slept, or at least lay. Every once in a while her body shuddered.

 

“Are you alright?” Yellow asked softly. Though the question was ridiculous. Of course she wasn’t.

 

“Fine.” Domina said through a tear choked voice. “Perfectly fine.”

 

Barely sixty years after she had emerged, Yellow Diamond was thrust into her first battle. Some world that had collapsed during the mining process. It had been host to a species of organics that proved to be more capable than their initial assessment. They had lost half of an entire battalion in the assault. Among them some of the first members of her court. White had found Yellow, two days after the battle, on her knees, eyes wet, scarcely with the strength to stand. 

 

White had grabbed her shoulder and yanked her to her feet.

 

“You’re wasting time. If they weren’t shattered here, they would have been shattered somewhere else.” White had snapped at her. “They’ve fulfilled their purpose, now get back to yours.”

 

Now Yellow felt a fist forming just at the words. It was strange how something normal back then could seem so backwards now. Stars, she had said as much to Pink at one point.

 

“Shards.” Domina muttered. She sat up then leaned down to her jacket, a moment later she had retrieved a file storage chip. “I... You can probably do more with this than I can.” She held it out to Yellow “She... she thought we would need more proof, it’s the originals, I guess.” Yellow took the storage chip, and it was like she had removed a support from Domina. Her shoulders slumped  and her head pressed into her palms. 

 

“Domina.” Yellow Diamond set the chip down and stood, hovering slightly over Domina, unsure of what to do.

 

“This is all my fracking fault.”  She murmured, her voice started to rise. “I shouldn’t have trusted that pearl. I shouldn’t have shown the video. I shouldn’t have dodged you and Blue for 3 fracking months!”

 

“Blue was already suspicious.” Yellow said. “You don’t need to-”

 

“But I didn’t make it any fracking better!” Domina said, her face dissolving into fresh tears. “And now... now... stars Red shouldn’t have...”  Yellow sat next to her, and pulled her to her side, into a firm hug.

 

“No, she shouldn’t have. But it’s not your fault.”

 

***

 

Gems were rarely allowed to be useless, even in death. Their shards, if not big enough to be used to power some device of some sort, were usually ground and reprocessed to make more gems. 

 

But they didn't have to do it like that. They could do better. It was Forest that carefully gathered the shards into a box that she retrieved from her gem. Feldspar was the one that started humming. It was a tune from an opera that Red had always been fond of. One that spoke of the moon goddess creating the galaxy around her from the shards of a destroyed world. One that hinted of a bright future, and spoke of rising from the ashes. 

 

Pink returned moments after disappearing. She offered a shoulder to Feldspar, took the box from Forest and set it somewhere stable. She didn’t cry, and neither did Blue. Blue wanted to, she really did. But stars she couldn’t imagine crying anymore. The burning of sorrow rose to her chest and she could feel the acidic tears start to eat at her eyes and she pushed them away. Thankfully an incoming notification message on the ship’s communication panel distracted her. 

 

“How many there?” Blue asked the moment White’s face appeared on screen. White frowned worried.

 

“Around fifty. Lapis just arrived, where do we need to set a course for?” White asked. Blue felt another pain of frustration push painful tears into her eyes. Fifty, there were scarcely more than seventy five on board with her now. They had lost nearly half of everyone on the base. Stars’ what where they supposed to do?

 

“Blue!” White said in a way that indicated it wasn’t the first time she had said it.

 

“Sorry.” Blue said, shaking her head and shutting her eyes to push back the tears. “I believe we should be able to dock the ships together. I’ll talk to Forest...” She glanced up and saw Forest curled against the wall. One of the peridots sat next to her. “I’ll talk to Yellow and see what we can do.” 

 


	70. LXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH goodness, that was a horrible week, hopefully it gets better from here. Sorry about monday everyone I had a family emergency but I'm back now with... chapter 70?!?! what in the world.. this is insane, thankfully things should be picking up next chapter. Thanks to squish for betaing and I hope you like whats here.

 

Yellow Pearl found Steven in the engine room after everyone boarded. The main room of the pink ship was crowded with the amethysts and other gems that had come over from the other escape ships.

 

She didn’t want to be in the middle of it. Seeing the desolate and frightened faces just made her feel guilty. Of course, walking into the engine room and seeing Steven sitting on the floor and staring at Sodalite’s pearl’s gem didn’t help that feeling.

 

“Just bubble her.” She muttered. She sunk to the floor across from him. Steven frowned.

 

“Is that really-”

 

“Yes! She’s a traitor! White Diamond should have shattered her on the spot then had someone worry about her through all this mess.” Yellow Pearl said. The words bubbled up with her anger, spilling through with her own frustrations. Steven flinched and Yellow Pearl almost felt bad underneath all her anger.

 

“I don’t think she... She told us! She turned herself in!” Steven stammered out.

 

“To save herself.” And yet there was an annoying voice in the back of Yellow’s head that asked if she would have done anything different in the same position. Steven’s face crumbled. Wordlessly he bubbled the gem and let it float to the ceiling.

 

“I should have been here.” He said, tears beginning to overwhelm his eyes. “Carnelian, uh tall carnelian, was hurt and so I went with them but... if I had been here.”

 

“Then Carnelian would have been the one that fell apart.” Yellow said, glancing up at the pink bubble clinging to the ceiling. All of this could have been avoided.  _ But how? _ That voice asked,  _ would you have put her in a bubble at the zoo? After you protected her from the chaos that you all brought there? _

 

“I could have done something.”

 

_ You wouldn’t have, you were so focused on proving to Blue that you were on her side to think of the consequences. _ “Maybe.” Yellow said. “Could your mother heal gems after they shattered?”

 

“...No.” Steven’s voice was soft and he pulled his knees to his chest.

 

“Then I don’t believe you could have done anything.” Yellow Pearl said. And maybe neither could she.

 

***

 

“Where are the diamonds?” Blue asked her. Pink Pearl snapped out of the headcount of the room she was doing to answer her.

 

“Domina should be resting, Yellow Diamond is watching her.” Pink said, and she hoped that Yellow Diamond would know ‘strange’ when she saw it. She made herself take inventory of what they had. She had to do anything to take her mind off of Domina’s gaunt aged face, and anything to take her mind off of how few of them there were.

 

“Where do we go now?” one of the pearls asked. She was dark brown and fiddled with the edge of her skirt.

 

“There’s a planet nearby,” Forest’s voice was soft from her space against the wall. “One of Whit- or... I guess it was one of White Diamond's colony planets.” Garnet shook her head.

 

“No, if we arrive on any outer colony planets we’ll be unlikely to blend in with the existing small population.”

 

“That and they may be looking for us.” Blue said, she glanced around the room, searching briefly before returning her gaze to the floor in front of her. A gesture that Pink assumed would have previously been blocked by her bangs but now was on full display. There was a round of other suggestions, all planets or asteroids nearby, one gem suggested that they just take over another station. After all, hadn’t that worked before? But all of these plans boiled down to one simple problem.

 

“We need somewhere they won’t expect us, somewhere we can regroup and get in contact with Jet to formulate... some sort of plan.” White said, she paced in the small area between the Holly Blue and Ruby 8KL.

 

“Homeworld.” Feldspar said, speaking for the first time since her song for Red had ended. There was silence.

 

“Surely you must be joking.” Heliodor said. She was still gripping her scimitar nervously, even hours after the fight. Feldspar turned to her unamused. “Stars above you’re serious.”

 

“So you wanna hide from Blue Diamond. Where she is?” Amethyst asked.

 

“She said ‘somewhere where they won’t expect us’.” Feldspar said. She folded her arms over her stomach gem and stared at the box now sitting on the console. “The entire planet isn’t patrolled. Blue Diamond either can’t or won’t provide the forces to secure all the districts.”

 

“Can’t is more likely.” Mossy mused.

 

“So, we head there, enter through the holes in the security and set up a base in the catacombs.” Feldspar said.

 

“No, we’re too big of a group for the catacombs.” Blue mused, folding her hands delicately in front of her. Pink could tell she was considering it though. And Pink was too. They had to move forward, had to strike while Blue Diamond thought they were taken care of. And... there was a safe haven on Homeworld. Maybe. Pink left the room as the various gems present continued to discuss their options and found Yellow Pearl and Steven in the engine room.

 

“Yellow, is there a way to access the flagship’s security logs from here?” Pink asked. Yellow looked up at her frowning.

 

“There is. Why?” She asked.

 

“I think I’ve found our next move.”

 

****

 

Domina was used to waking up in strange places, on the floor of the ship bay, underneath the colony’s main generator, in her actual bed. But the strangest experience, by far, was waking up in the room aboard the pink ship. She could hear Connie and Steven, they were actually sleeping next to each other on mattresses that they had pulled to the ground.

 

She turned to straighten her blankets out of habit and saw Yellow Diamond, slumped against the wall next to where Domina had fallen asleep. Her chest rose and fell with breaths she didn’t actually need and for once, she looked completely relaxed. Domina felt a smile flicker across her face and lay the blanket over Yellow Diamond, before exiting the room.

 

The ship was fuller now, and moving, as she could tell from the miniscule vibrations of the engines. Domina nodded to the various gems she passed before she was pulled into a hug by Zee.

 

“You alright Pebble?” She asked. Domina nodded.

 

“Fine, I’ll be fine, where are we going?” She asked. She brushed off the concerned gazes from those around her to look at Pearl who looked at least slightly relieved.

 

“Homeworld.” She said. “We’ll be there in a few hours.”

 

“Landing site?” Domina asked raising an eyebrow.

 

“Just south of where the white and pink districts intersect.” Feldspar said, she looked... uncharacteristically serious, though Domina couldn’t say she blamed her. Really she was surprised Feldspar was even speaking to her, considering the circumstances. “From there,” Feldspar continued. “We should be able to board the Flagship.” Domina blinked slightly.

 

“Are... we sure that’s a good idea?” She asked. Pink slid a screen towards her with the flagships security access log. There was a highlighted day, roughly a week after their flight from Homeworld. Blue Diamond herself warped in, accessed all the rooms on the main level, then left. The ship hadn’t been accessed since. Domina snorted. “Wow, she really looked thoroughly.”

 

“Blue Diamond, like most of you, doesn’t think outside the box very often.” Blue Pearl said. Domina looked at her and almost smiled.

 

“Thanks, I think.”

 

It took six trips to get everyone to the flagship. They had to use several warp pads to avoid arousing suspicion from the few guards that still patrolled the relatively desolate section. Domina could feel something... off about Homeworld. This section in particular, it just felt empty. She hoped Blue hadn’t been stupid, hoped that she had simply had the gems harvested, or even better, just bubbled for processing. That they could reverse to a certain extent.

 

Shattering was an entirely different matter. And at this point, if Blue did shatter half of their total population, Domina couldn’t be sure she could allow blue to stay whole. The cuts in her hand were stinging still. The faint pain was chipping away at her mercy.

 

Domina finally appeared in the Flagship with the last group. It was dark, though slowly being illuminated as gems turned on the light, marvelling at the inside of the ship.

 

“I can’t believe we still have this thing.” 9NY said. Domina chuckled at the outrage thrown at the Peridot from some of the gems that still considered themselves of her court.

 

“Right, it corners horribly, I’m still surprised it made it back here from Earth.” She glanced around the room for a glimpse of Steven and Connie and waved them over. “Steven, do you actually want to see my quarters in person for once?” She asked. “There’s a shower down there as well. And food I believe.” Both kids forced a smile, Domina could tell they were coping with the situation as well as she was.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s a lot more solid.” Steven said, following her back to the warp pad. Her quarters were exactly as she remembered them, though covered with a fine layer of dust that was quickly wiped off as the lights were turned on.

 

“Make yourself at home.” Domina said. “I’m sure they won’t decide anything important without us.”


	71. LXXI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! chapter 71! This was a fun one, parts of it got away from me and I hope you guys like it as well! Squish Beta'd and... I might be getting better at this whole grammar thing. I have lots of notes for fridays chapter so I... probably better go get started. especially if I want to end at.... well you'll see above.
> 
> Hope you enjoy, see you friday,

Domina could hear people in the flagship, it was a very strange feeling, she had gotten so used the ship being empty that she never even imagined what it was like fully crewed. Or at least fully occupied. Down the hallway, Connie was still changing. Steven had gotten changed into clothes less battle-worn and was now opposite her on the couch, giving the empty air an empty look that Domina was all too familiar with. She knew the words she was supposed to say, the ones that everyone did. She just wished she could figure out how to say them in a way that wasn’t incredibly patronizing.

Thankfully, Steven broke the silence first.

“You kind of look like a diamond.” He said. Domina blinked and looked down at herself, her clothes had been in just as bad of a shape as the kids’, which unfortunately meant that her Working Dead t-shirt was probably beyond saving. Which also meant that she was back to her normal clothes, grey pants and shirt, and the long white coat over top. The only thing that would make her more intimidating at this point was a cape.

“Unfortunately.” Domina frowned, she almost took the jacket off but decided she didn’t need her other failures staring her in the face. It was bad enough that the cuts on her hands still stung.

“No, it’s cool,” Steven said. “You don’t look nearly as scary as you normally do.”

“Well you do keep showing up without letting me know ahead of time.” Domina mused, staring at the ceiling. 

“Well I never know when I’m going to be in the neighborhood.” Steven said. Domina chuckled at his phrasing. 

“Well try to make your off-planet adventures more planned.” She said. It was at this point that the warp pad behind her activated and White Pearl appeared. Down the hallway, the door opened and Connie emerged in her training Kalari. 

“Connie, Steven, Skinny said she could open a secure channel to earth if either of you wanted to speak to your parents.” Pearl said.

“Oh right.” Steven said, sliding off the couch. Connie smiled at Domina as she passed her. She seemed to be taking it better, on the outside at least. 

The kids left. Only the kids, which was a little worrisome. Domina braced herself for the worst and turned to face White.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” She asked. “I was planning on making my way up in a few minutes.” White shook her head pensively as she looked around.

“You honestly converted the storage area to an apartment?” She asked after a moment. Domina shrugged.

“It was the easiest area to change, and no one looks down here.” She said. White nodded and then bit her lip.

“I... was talking to 9ZQ.” White said. Domina breathed a sigh of relief, that, she could do.

“I can certainly give it a shot, if you really trust me to go poking around in your gem.” Domina smiled nervously. White hesitated, and Domina stopped smiling immediately. “I completely understand if you don’t, I’ve only done this once and in the past my unassisted adjustment of a gem’s programming hasn’t always had the-”

“No, I trust you.” White said firmly, Domina’s words stopped in her throat.

“...Are you sure?”

“Yes!” White sighed and took the space Steven had previously vacated. “Just... don’t make me regret it.” Domina nodded wordlessly, closed her eyes, and pulled on the string that connected the core of her gem to the surface of her thoughts.

When she had last seen White Pearl’s memories, it had been back on Earth, back when she had panicked about not being able to fly The Styx. White’s memories were in the same state as Zee’s, static’d over in an almost blinding white. Domina smiled softly as she slowly began to remove it. Each memory revealed itself to her in the process, as if repaying her.

They weren't nice, not the early ones at least, and there were a lot of early memories static’d over. Some were even crumpled, and torn slightly at the edges. In others, she could see tears all the way through that looked as if they had been welded back together. They all had her mother testing the limits of her power and she felt herself growing more and more scared and confused before White Diamond decided she’d had enough. 

After this initial batch of trials the staticings faded out. These memories held moments of anguish from White Diamond, periods when her facade broke and she fell into despair. The memories held moments where a colony overseer had failed, had thrown herself on White Diamond, pleading for mercy, and White Diamond had given it. But that she had successfully bargained with White Diamond, that couldn't stand, so the memories of all who had been present, colony overseer and pearl had been concealed. 

There were only a few at the end and the moment the static began to clear from one of them, Domina was hit with resolve. Excitement and worry intermixed as she saw the face of Steven’s mom, Rose Quartz, staring at her with joy. She watched, relieved as Pink Pearl walked away from the palanquin. She saw Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond speaking in low voices, saw Rose thrust her blade through Pink’s form and the pink diamond fall into a waiting hand. 

Domina nearly pulled out of the memories then and there, she could feel herself reeling from shock. Pink Diamond was in on it. The darkness began to fade and Domina yanked it back. She couldn't be done yet. The memory floated to the ceiling to join other memories of the war. She carefully took the last one, and swept aside the static to yet again see her mother, flanked by Blue Diamond, whose face was full of as much rage as Domina had seen in the citadel as the curtain of fear had crept towards her so many months ago.

She felt the facets of Pink Diamond’s gem cutting into her hands. There were arguments and more fear now, the calm and determination from before had faded. She saw her mother snap fire a bolt of compressed air at Rose Quartz. She felt herself throwing herself infront of Rose, in a motion so familiar, putting the Diamond’s gem in between them and her former life. 

She felt the shards of Pink Diamond’s gem cut through her form. It wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling, diamond shards felt the same as any other. 

The last thing she saw was White Diamond’s horrified face as Blue Diamond screamed. Domina let go of the memory and saw it float to join the others as the darkness faded around her, as if overpowered by the light of her mother's gem.

The pain in Domina’s gem faded and she blinked away what was left of the darkness to see White’s face, wide with shock. Her gem was still ovular, and she shook ever so slightly. 

“Remember,” Garnet had said. “Deep seated wounds leave scars. Even in gems.”

***  
The ships were intended to connect together, though as far as Yellow Diamond could remember that had only happened once. White didn’t usually use the Flagship for her routine travel, which had always made Yellow wonder why they kept it around.

She did know that White had not intended it to become a headquarters for a rebellion. 

True to Domina’s offer, the New Rebellion had made themselves at home. The gems that were still inert sat wrapped in soft objects out of the way, with the pink bubble holding a blue pearl floating towards the ceiling. Gems swarmed the control room, some sitting backwards on the chairs provided, others on the consoles, all facing the projection of Homeworld. The warp pad chimed and Domina appeared with White Pearl, both looked shaken by... something she would have to pry into later.   
“So our ultimate goal is to confront Blue Diamond.” Blue Pearl said the moment everyone was seated. “According to our last transmission with Jet, she is commanding from the Citadel directly.” The location of the Citadel lit up on the projection. 

“Do we really think it’s feasible to succeed against Blue Diamond at this point?” Holly Blue Agate asked with a disapproving frown. Yellow noted how she had included herself in that statement. Blue Pearl turned and looked at Yellow Diamond and Domina specifically. 

“Not us collectively, the Diamonds will deal with her directly.”

“Sure you don’t want to help Blue?” Domina asked with a grin. There was a general chuckle through the audience and Blue Pearl shook her head ruefully.

“No.” She said. With a flick of her wrist the display of Homeworld zoomed in on the Citadel. “A majority of the guard is concentrated here, thanks to Jet’s efforts. So in order to even begin our assault, we need to first draw them away.”

“A distraction?” One of the jaspers piped up.

“Going to have to be one clodding big distraction.” Forest muttered. Yellow Diamond thought for a moment, fingering the data storage device in her hand.

“A transmission.” She said. Blue Pearl turned to her and gestured for her to elaborate. Yellow Diamond frowned and flipped the device into the air. The data player caught it and projected the log entry, with White’s handwriting. Her voice, edited together by Red from several clips, played over it.

“We cannot afford to specialize. Not after all this. Everyone does the work that needs done to recover, Sandstone or Corundum we need as many hands as possible. They had the time to customize, to make each gem to suit their needs, and that's what caused us... And what will cause their downfall.”

She gestured with her hand again and the device returned to her hand. “There's more, essentially it is new information, radical enough to cause ripples of chaos if Blue doesn’t counter it quickly enough.” Yellow said. “And knowing her as I do, she won’t.” Her pearl stepped up next to Blue and spun through the projection of homeworld, tapping sections before zooming out to reveal the planet as a whole. 

“Here are all the main communication relays. If we spoof the transmission to all of them we could draw enough of the guard away and deal with them. Silently.” Yellow Pearl said. Yellow Diamond smirked slightly and took a seat again, to keep her pearl out of her shadow.

“There’s one near one of the main processing plants.” Feldspar said, indicating one of the relays. “I imagine they’re overwhelmed. We could free the gems there.” 

Moss Agate focused on another. “And the main water storage and treatment facility is there.” She said, gesturing to an area near another relay.

“That one’s pretty easy to break into.” Lapis said. There was a pause as a majority of gems turned towards the elite gem, who just shrugged.

“Alright then, a group should go with Lapis there.” Blue Pearl said. “We need one for each relay, and one for the main transmitter.” She paused then looked at Yellow Diamond. “I’m trusting you to take care of that.” Yellow Diamond blinked, having already been waiting to figure out who to turn the data store over to.

“Me?”

“Yes. Don’t let me down.” Blue said. Yellow Diamond nodded, then after a moment, snapped a salute. Domina grinned widely.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”


	72. LXXII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! fun chapter here! Hope you enjoy it, I know me and Squish had a ball betaing it. there's some uh... interesting stuff that happens at the end and I'd love to hear your thoughts. See you monday!

# 

The lower echelons of Homeworld had once been as vibrant as the upper spires. Blue Pearl had spent most of her time in these lower caverns and, while they had always been quiet, the emptiness that filled them now was oppressive. 

 

She knew the standards for gems of Blue Diamond’s court were higher, hence the court had always been smaller, but to see it on such a large scale was terrifying.

 

“All those gems, they weren’t actually...” Steven asked. He kept his voice soft as they traveled from one cavernous kindergarten to another, making their way to the surface where the relay tower stood. Blue Pearl looked at Garnet who frowned even deeper.

 

“Blue Diamond has always been... harsh.” Garnet said. “It’s no surprise that if given unchecked power, she would do something like this.”

 

“The processing plant is this way.” Blue Pearl said; she briefly checked the branching alleyway before waving her hand to lead them forward.

 

“What is the processing plant for exactly?” Connie asked. 

 

“Turning gems back into the raw resources that go into injectors.” Blue Pearl explained as they stopped just out of sight of the tall crystalline building. There were a few gems milling about outside. A quartet of rubies guarded the door, somehow succeeding in looking completely serious as they argued about who was taller. “Or, more frequently, embedding them into objects as a power source.”

 

“...Is that what harvesting is?” Steven asked; Garnet nodded.

 

“There's four more rubies on the inside,” She said. “And two peridots just inside the entry way with...” She whistled and adjusted her glasses with a smirk. Blue Pearl gave her a quizzical look but Garnet shook her head and summoned her gauntlets. “Let’s do this.”

 

****

There was nothing quite as terrifying as standing guard while a lapis lazuli and a mechanically inclined, ill-tempered pearl tried to break into Homeworld’s largest water storage facility.

 

“This was not this hard last time!” Lapis grumbled. Yellow Pearl heard a thump and Forest squawked indignantly.

 

“Well the last time you were here, we obviously were still using security systems simple enough that any Era 1 gem could pummel their way through!”

 

“And it worked!” Lapis shouted back, there was another thump and Forest growled irritatedly.

 

“Stop that! Your just making it worse!”

 

“Will you two keep your voices down!” 5XG snapped, she had the communications panel in front of her open, listening for signs that the other teams had made it to their positions.

 

“Oh don’t start with me, Peridot! Tell your lapis that she needs to stop beating against the water tank from the inside like a battle-raged quartz!” 

 

“You’re talking a lot of smack for a pearl between a terraformer and fifty thousand gallons of water.”

 

“Talking a lot of what?”

 

“A lot of- Peridot! Explain what ‘smack’ means, you speak technician!” Yellow Pearl, despite the noise of her compatriots, could hear the sound of a nearby warp pad, one they had passed on the way here. She summoned her shield.

 

“I'm trying to-” Peridot turned her head to respond only to have Yellow clamp her hand down over the gem’s mouth. She poked her head into the maintenance room where Forest and Lapis were bickering and gestured for silence. 

 

The footsteps got closer and Forest leapt up into the rafters of the ceiling, followed quickly by Lapis. Peridot and Yellow Pearl squished into a gap just out of sight of the door. 

 

A group of onyxes entered the room.

 

“They have to be in here. This is where the kunzites traced the input signal from.” One of them said. 

 

“Looks empty.” Another said. Yellow glanced up at Lapis who focused on the water tank below.  An onyx was inspecting the panel and frowned. 

 

“Someone’s been messing with this.” She said, before turning her head and staring directly at the shield Yellow Pearl held in front of herself and Peridot. Another thump echoed from the tank, this one louder, straining the material. “Well what do we have he-”

 

Yellow Pearl didn’t give her the chance to recover. She charged with a yell at the onyx, shield held in front of her like a battering ram. This caught the gem, and the rest of the room off guard, giving her the advantage of being able to knock the onyx off her feet before she had even pulled the weapon from her shoulder gem. 

 

“What the-!” The commanding onyx managed to blurt out before the tank exploded in a tidal wave of compressed water. Under the sound of rushing water, she could hear Forest stammering angrily.

 

“You didn’t have to break it!”

 

***

 

Until the main communication hub was in sight, Yellow Diamond had no idea where they were. The lower levels of Homeworld weren’t easily accessible by Diamonds, and anyway, it should be below their dignity to visit such places. 

 

The communication hub was sparsely guarded, the few technicians present were quickly dispatched by Carnelian and Jasper working in tandem. Yellow and Skinny didn’t speak to each other as they entered the control room. Skinny slid into the transmission control seat first, leaving Yellow Diamond with the external monitoring station.

 

“Skinny...” Jasper said warningly. Yellow Diamond ignored them flipping through the various transmissions that had been sent. 

 

There were reports of hundreds of ‘off colors’ emerging from the northernmost processing plants, the guard station there was overrun and reporting of organic creatures leading the charge against them.

 

A team of onyxes who had been dispatched to investigate a potential data breach at the main water plant had also gone mysteriously silent.

 

Because of all this, the garrison had been mobilized, meaning that Domina, Pink, Amethyst and White Pearl would be seeing combat any minute now. 

 

“Stuff it, Tiny,”  Skinny mumbled, she quickly accessed the transmitter, typing quickly to remotely broadcast from the entire network of relays. “Diamond, I need the video.” She said without taking her eyes from the screen. Yellow Diamond placed it in front of her. 

 

“Focus on the towers north of the-”

 

“Don’t tell me how to do my job.” Skinny said as the video began to upload. 

 

“Skinny...” Jasper said uneasily. Yellow could hear Carnelian sigh, she pursed her lips to retort as the broadcast began, and Homeworld began to panic.

****

Domina didn’t get a chance to ask White about Pink Diamond, which honestly wasn’t the first time a pearl had put off her questions about the departed diamond. After she had finished the process of restoring the Renegade’s memories they had had to move to the meeting. And after that... she didn’t feel like it would be a good idea to bring it up around Pink, not yet. But stars, she had to tell someone, Yellow at the very least, and... well eventually Blue should know.

 

Amethyst shoved her from her thoughts, they stood practically in broad daylight, or at least the closest thing to it on Homeworld. To their back was the relay hub, and in front of them was the main garrison, a chasm with an intricate bridge across it was the only thing separating them from potentially hundreds of soldiers. They were like... what was the phrase from the movies? Laying ducks? Sitting dogs? Something like that.

 

“Come on, Dom, ready?” Amethyst asked, giving a flourish with her whip. Domina chuckled weakly and leaned forward to look at Pearl. Her dagger was drawn, gripped tightly as if it was the only thing keeping her aloft. White stood next to her, spear held resolutely. Behind them, Domina could hear the tower begin to broadcast. She could hear her mother's voice and she shuddered.

 

“Ready.” Domina said as a platoon of obsidians spotted them and began charging them, single file across the bridge.

 

“Let them come to us.” White ordered, leveling her spear at the gems. A horde of other assorted quartzes, some fused some not, emerged from the garrison. Several didn’t even bother with the bridge, they simply leapt across the chasm, where they were confronted by Amethyst with her whip. Domina floated up to face the fusions face to face. She saw surprise on some of their faces seconds before her sword cut through their form as she hopped to the other side. News of her presence on the battlefield travelled quickly. 

 

“White Diamond!” Someone shouted at her. Domina was caught off guard briefly. Long enough for a maul twice her size to nearly crush her before she was tackled.

 

“You’re supposed to pay attention!” Pearl shouted at her as a spear ripped through the citrine fusion.

 

“I was!” Domina dove over Pearl and drove her sword through the chest of a chrysoprase “How the frack do they know who I am!?” She shouted. Pearl swung with her dagger, ducking under a glaive blade to deliver a blow to a nearby milky quartz. 

 

“Who knows? Where’s our back up!?” Pearl asked, pulling Domina down with her as a piece of debris was thrown through their cloud of enemies by Amethyst’s whip.

 

“Should be here any minute.” Domina said as she stood and stared at the bridge. It was as if there was no end to the enemies. They needed that backup now. She looked down at Pearl and hesitated. Stevima was powerful, she could feel that much from the fusion. And at the moment, they needed power. “Fuse with me?” Domina asked. Pearl looked at her aghast, then her eyes narrowed as she threw a dagger over Domina’s shoulder. Domina heard a gem hit the ground. 

 

“Now?” Pearl shouted, ducking Domina’s next sword swing.

 

“Yes, now.” Domina changed place so they were back to back, “We need more power.”

 

“We fused on accident the last time!”

 

“So it should be easier now!”

 

“Domina, this isn’t the time to experi-” Pearl began before Domina slammed into her, pushing back against the broadsword which arced towards them. Another dagger went flying through the ametrine’s form. Domina scrambled to her feet then turned to Pearl.

 

“Thanks.” Domina she said with a relieved grin. It was a lot easier to fight next to someone. She offered her hand and Pink took it.

 

“Stars, this is why I hate it when you run off to fight things on your own.” Pink said, pulling herself to her feet.

 

“Well, I’m not alone this time.” Domina said. She saw the next wave moving towards them and activated her gem, clinging tightly to Pearl’s hand.

 

“No.” Pearl said, she saw the approaching swarm as well, and her gem began to glow. A flash of light practically blinded the oncomers as Sunstone formed, weilding a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other with finesse, as if she had emerged like that.

 

“And you never will be again.” She said, as the winds began to swirl around her.

 

****

Homeworld had panicked. Yellow allowed herself half a second to relax before she realized exactly what the problem with that statement was.

 

“You need to boost the signal.” She said, leaning over Skinny and frantically seizing the controls.

 

“Woah, what?” Skinny shoved her. 

 

“The other planets!” Yellow snapped, grabbing for the console quickly. “If they haven’t already been alerted by someone, they will be soon.”

 

“There's no way!” Skinny stood between her and the console. “Anyway, it’s already at full power, we can’t reach any farther!”

 

“Well we have to try! If the guard gets air support, we’re fracked!” 

 

“What exactly do you want me to do!? We don’t have time to-”

 

“Move and let me do it!” 

 

“Will you two knock it off; we have to get out of here!” Jasper roared at them.

 

“Shut up, Tiny!” Skinny shouted back. There was a smell of ozone as Yellow Diamond could feel herself beginning to panic. They had to keep the rest of the empire busy, they could not allow for any more losses, she couldn’t lose anyone else right now.

 

“The citadel, there's a transmitter there, one powerful enough to reach the whole empire.” Yellow said, yanking the data drive from the console.

 

“And just how are we going to get there without getting fracked?” Skinny asked.

 

“Are you suggesting we do nothing?” 

 

“I’m suggesting you trust our people, you trumped up lump of graphite!”

 

They were interrupted by the sound of destabilizers activating and Yellow Diamond’s mouth snapped shut as she turned to see the fire agates that had just entered the room.

 

****

 

The last time Sunstone had formed, she had scarcely been around long enough to name herself. Now though, she felt more complete, she could feel her components’ determination and their pride as they clung together. She whirled through the battlefield with grace, towering above normal gems, eye to eye with those fused as the battle progressed. 

 

Help was coming. From closer to the relay, she could hear the battle cries of the Famethyst. She could see Tourmaline wading into battle with an arm-mounted crossbow, taking out gems before they got to the pearls, wielding weapons as dangerous as they were delicate.

 

She felt thoughts, not easily distinguished between those of her components, driving her to protect these people. To reclaim this world as the words of White Diamond thundered in her ears. To do it for Red.

 

Cutting through her thoughts and the din of the battlefield, ships began shooting through the atmosphere. 

 

“Well shit!” Amethyst shouted, White didn’t even chide her. There were cheers from the Homeworld troops as they redoubled their effort. Destabilizing blasts began raining down on the battlefield, damaging Homeworld soldiers as much as those of the rebellion. But they had so few to spare.

 

Sunstone leapt into the air, deflecting the blasts with her dagger as she focused a blast of air with her sword; the lead ship was knocked off target, and into another.

 

“More.” She murmured to herself as she saw the fleet descending upon her. “We don’t stand a chance.” She felt part of her, a particularly worried part of herself, pulling at the power within her gem. But she couldn’t do that, she knew that could cause more problems than fix them. Sunstone heard White below give the call for a retreat and decided she just needed to buy them time.

 

A ship bore down on her directly and she wove between the bolts, ducking underneath to smash a hilt through the front. A blast of wind was enough to throw the nephrites from the cockpit. A second didn’t even try to shoot her, the side opened and a garnet weilding a blaster took aim and missed. Then missed again and caught a thrown dagger through the side of her form. 

 

The third ship tried to capitalize on her distraction but Sunstone was too fast, she shot into the air, allowing a beam to slam through the second ship, sending it careening into the chasm below. Sunstone looked down and began to make her way to safety, eyes focused on White below. The Homeworld troops were similarly being called back into the garrison. 

 

Sunstone didn’t make it to the ground.

 

She felt a shock and then she didn’t exist. Pink’s gem made an arc closer to the edge of the chasm, where it was saved by virtue of being closer to the end of Amethyst’s whip. Domina wasn’t so lucky, she plunged into the chasm like a stone. Unconscious.

 

**** 

 

They had to get to the Citadel. Yellow Diamond knew that. The datastore was still in her hand. She formed a pocket in her coat and tucked it in as the agates stared at the room in surprise, specifically at her. 

 

They had to get to the Citadel. If reinforcements came, they didn’t stand a chance. She looked at the destabilizers, then at the gems in her company. They would be shattered, not captured. Though from the looks of Jasper, already wearing her crash helmet, they weren’t going to go down without a fight. 

 

“Yellow Diamond, call off your gems.” One fire agate ordered.

 

“We’re not her gems.” Skinny said.

 

“Quiet off color.” Another said. 

 

They had to get to the Citadel, but they couldn’t fight their way in. “ _ Seize them, _ ” Blue had said. Presumably, she still wanted her fellow diamonds captured intact. But these three... 

 

Yellow Diamond dissipated Jasper, Skinny, and Carnelian with a flick of her wrist. The agates jumped back instinctively, they had obviously seen her at work before. Yellow had enough time to grab the gems before they hit the floor. In half a second, they were bubbled, and by the end of the same second, they were floating in the Flagship. Or maybe in her arm ship, it was an imprecise science.

 

“Stop!” The first agate ordered, her voice a little less brave. The destabilizer pointed in her direction wavered, as if unsure it was really the right tool for the job. “Where did you send them?”

 

“It’s not important.” Yellow Diamond said, taking a breath and raising her hands to show them empty. “I surrender.”

  
  



	73. LXXIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright guys, sorry for the lateness but I got caught up in uh.. well a conversation between two diamonds. Hope you enjoy the chapter. Squish beta'd so my grammar should be alright. 
> 
> See you friday!

Blue Pearl should have been more worried that everything was going right. She returned to the flagship along with Steven, Connie, Garnet, and around twenty of the gems who hadn’t gone running and screaming once they realized they had been freed from the processing facility. 

 

Yellow and her team also returned, slightly soaked, and with a compressed water containment unit that Forest was very firmly telling Lapis to be careful with.

 

The other teams wandered in, there were some cracked or missing gems but their losses hadn’t been as vast as they could be.

 

Feldspar already had the schematics of the citadel on the projector, ready to discuss their next move. Then a yellow bubble appeared, hovering less than a foot above Yellow Pearl’s head. Inside of it were three gems, two jaspers and a carnelian. And Blue Pearl felt a twinge of fear. There's no way Yellow Diamond would have betrayed them, not after all this. Not after the star’s cursed salute. Yellow carefully took the bubble, looked at the gems inside, then looked at her.

 

“Go... go ahead,” Blue stammered out as the conversation died around them. Yellow squeezed the bubble and took a step backwards as all three gems began to reform. They dropped to the ground but quickly got up.

 

“What... what happened?” Carnelian asked looking around. Jasper glanced around.

 

“Yellow Diamond, she’s-”

 

“Not here.” Yellow Pearl said, “You were sent in one of her bubbles.”

 

“Ugh!” Skinny clutched the sides of her head. “What was she thinking?”

 

“Why, what happened?” Blue asked.

 

“We were... interrupted by some of the guard.” Jasper said in a way that sounded more like they were distracted. “And my- Yellow Diamond, she-”

 

“She attacked us.” Skinny said

 

“And sent us here.” Carnelian amended.

 

“Why?” Yellow Pearl asked, baffled. Blue Pearl frowned, that was a... strangely selfless maneuver and honestly didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

 

“No idea.” Skinny said, throwing her arms in the air. “The message got through alright? She kept messing with the controls, saying that we needed to transmit farther.”

 

“Oh, that fracking idiot.” Yellow Pearl said. She dashed over to the projection Feldspar had brought up of the Citadel and highlighted a certain area. “The Citadel’s transmitter, she’s trying to get to the Citadel’s transmitter.”

 

“But why?” Blue Pearl asked.

 

“To prevent Blue Diamond from calling for reinforcements from other planets.” Jasper said. 

 

“Yeah, about that...” Amethyst said, entering the room with White and the remainder of their forces. White was carrying Pink’s Pearl and opened her mouth to say something, only to be cut off by Pink reforming. 

 

Pink emerged from her gem looking exactly as she had before, with maybe her hair looking disheveled from her hurried regeneration. She looked around wide-eyed.

 

“Where’s Domina?!”

***

They didn’t take her directly to Blue. Instead, Yellow Diamond allowed herself to be led to a diamond-sized room. She didn’t trust her abilities enough to get all the guards once she was in the Citadel. If she was dissipated at this point she would lose valuable time. 

 

At the very least, she recognized the room she had been put in, one of the smaller meeting rooms that her and Blue often used. The main transmitter was two floors below her, and it was unlikely there was anyone on that level.

 

Yellow attempted to open the door, fully expecting it to be locked, and was surprised when the door simply opened. But her surprise went away when Blue walked through the door.

 

“Ah, Yellow.” She said, as if nothing had happened in the last half year. As if Yellow had just called her in for a meeting. “You’ve reformed,” She said. “You look nice.” 

 

“You... do as well.” Yellow Diamond said, caught off guard. Blue had kept her ever present dress, though this time had chosen to accentuate the edges of her robe and of her hood in white. Upon closer inspection, the edges showed flowers, each with a dot of soft pink in them. Yellow didn’t know the name for the flowers, but she knew they had been Pink’s favorite.

 

“Thank you.” Blue said with a thin smile. She looked tired, which, Yellow knew from experience, came from running an intergalactic empire single handedly. “I suppose you’ve finally decided to stop with all this nonsense and return.”

 

“Return?” Yellow asked. “You drove me out Blue! Me and Domina! You seized this all for yourself.” Yellow paced the floor in front of Blue, as far as she could in the small space. “If by  _ return _ , you mean to retake what’s mine, then yes. You’ve taken this all too far for me to just let go!”

 

“I drove you out?” Blue asked. Yellow could already feel the all too familiar wave of emotion coming from Blue, she balled her fist tightly against the anger. “You lied to me! After all this time, all I’ve suffered, you lied to me, Yellow!” Blue shouted at her. “I offer you a place back here but only because...” Blue trailed off, shrinking her aura and allowing Yellow to smile smugly. 

 

“Because you can’t do it on your own. Can you? It’s hard trying to do everything by yourself, isn’t it?” Yellow asked. Blue glared at her.

 

“Ha-ha, don’t act like you’re so superior. It’s much easier than you led on about it being. Once you remove all the incompetent gems from their places.” Blue said. Yellow frowned.

 

“Blue, there’s a resource shortage. We may have a way to alleviate our problems on that front but you still can’t shatter gems indiscriminately.” Yellow Diamond said.

 

“Oh it’s always for a reason, Yellow. It’s not my fault you’ve gotten soft.” The door opened again and Blue diamond turned to glare down at the agate.

 

“My lustrous Diamond.” The agate said quickly, “We have reports that White Diamond may have fallen into the lower city.”

 

“Excellent, dispatch a patrol at once, bring her here, unharmed if at all possible.” Blue Diamond said, she turned to Yellow after the agate left. “Once Domina’s here, we’ll renegotiate how things will be. Do you think anyone would notice if we just threw her in the zoo after all of her rebellious gems are dealt with? She would be happier there I’m sure.” Yellow resisted the urge to smack Blue. She wasn’t any good if she was bubbled.

 

“They’re not her gems.” She said instead. Blue Diamond raised an eyebrow.

 

“You’re leading that ragtag annoyance?” She asked.

 

“No.” Yellow Diamond said. Blue sighed.

 

“Well then who, Yellow?”

 

“Your Pearl, or rather former Pearl.” Yellow said. Blue laughed.

 

“I don’t know what’s funnier, the idea of a pearl leading or that you would follow one, you have sunken low. Haven’t you, Yellow?”

 

“Low enough to be stuck here listening to you again? Yes.”

 

***

After nearly four thousand years, it wasn’t unusual for Domina to wake up with aches and pains. A crick in her neck, a hip that was a little stiffer depending on the air pressure, an ache in her elbow, all of those were normal everyday ills that she had learned to tolerate. However, a piercing headache, skin that felt like it was simultaneously burning and freezing and something tapping her shoulder, these were all new problems that needed addressing.

 

“Hey... hey are you ok?” A ruby’s voice asked. Domina grunted in pain, and forced herself into a sitting position from where she had been lying face down on the uneven ground of the chasm. The chasm! She had unfused and... and pearl. Domina whipped her head around searching for pink shards and bit back a shriek as her vision swam in a mixture of green and grey, darkness and light. She closed her eyes and that seemed to help. “Oh no, you’re cracked!” The ruby said. That... would make sense, and also was bad. Very bad. Domina hesitantly reached her hand to her gem and traced a spider web crack that ran from bottom to top. Her hand was wet with blood when she pulled it away.

 

“I am.” She said softly. She hesitantly opened up one eye, her left, and saw the chasm, full of rubble and gem shards and ship pieces, but no sign of pearl. She turned her head slightly and saw a ruby standing nearby, staring at her. She had a Yellow Diamond on her uniform and her gem was on her left thigh. Definitely not one of Blue Diamond’s gems. Domina smiled wearily and opened her other eye only to be hit with another stab of pain. This time she did scream, before tightly pulling her eyes closed.

 

“Oh no!” The ruby said. “Oh no, oh no! Wait here, I’ll be right back!” She said, then dashed off before Domina could say anything in response. 

 

Then again, Domina wasn’t even sure if she could form much in the way of sentences. She had seen plenty of cracked gems in the past and it was terrifying knowing that cracking a gem was a death sentence. But Steven could fix cracked gems, he could fix her and everything would be fine. So there was no need for her to panic over one of her eyes not working. 

 

She took stock of the rest of her body. She was generally bruised and she assumed that the crack was accounting for the fact that her skin felt burned. But everything still moved, she could feel that there were some dents in her armor which was probably the reason she wasn’t worse off.  Domina hesitantly opened her right eye, already bracing for the pain. Instead she saw... grass. In shock she opened her other eye and immediately fell back onto the floor, clutching her face.

 

“Filus canis!” She shouted, which was even more surprising, the last time she had said that she was twenty five and her father had threatened to wash her mouth out.

 

“What?” A different ruby asked. She had missed the sound of footsteps approaching her while she had been cursing.

 

“It’s not amet.” Domina said, cracking open her left eye to see 2 rubies. The one with her gem on her leg was standing slightly behind one with an eye gem.

 

“Amet? What’s Amet?” Eye gem asked.

 

“Uh... it’s not a....concern.” Domina said slowly, her mind jumped between the words trying to find ones that were available to her.

 

“Oh, alright then.” Eye gem said, standing up straight, the epitome of a ruby trying to look professional. “I’m Ruby cut 4ND, and I have to ask if you are aligned with Blue Diamond.”

 

“No.” Domina said. “Vos noscere 4ND,” She gritted her teeth at the words and both Rubies looked puzzled. Domina simply kept talking. “Non suppose a quomodo I could get to the Diamond Flagship?” 4ND and the leg ruby looked at each other and talked quietly to each other for a moment, then 4ND turned to her. 

 

“Come on, we’ll take you to our uh...”

 

“To Jet!” Leg ruby said cheerily.

 

“Quiet newbie.” 

 

“Well, what were you gonna say?”

 

“Jet?” Domina asked, she stumbled to her feet, making sure to keep her right eye closed. “Scio eam.” 

 

“Huh?” Leg ruby asked. Domina sighed and shook her head, then chose her next words carefully.

 

“Take her to me. Please.”

 


	74. LXXIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, I was going to write something witty for the authors note but I've been sick most of this week and am literally heading to bed as soon as I post this chapter. Thanks to squish for putting up with my nyquil trance during the editing process.
> 
> I hope you like the chapter! See you monday

# 

Trying to walk with rubies had always been difficult. Domina’s strides were typically too long for them to keep up with her without a lot of stopping and starting. Now, Domina found herself struggling to keep up with the shorter gems. They led her through a winding path to a narrow gap where part of an ancient kindergarten had partially collapsed to form an arched room.

 

Inside, through her one eye, Domina could see another three rubies inside, adjusting a communications rig. Two zircons, one yellow, one blue, leaned over the shoulder of a black pearl who had to be Jet.

 

“We’re back!” Leg gem ruby said as Domina walked in behind them. 

 

“Great.” Jet said without looking up from what she was working on. The rubies turned and stared at her.

 

“No signs of any other gems in the cavern, Jet.” 4ND said, stepping away from Domina to join the other three rubies. One with a chest gem and the visor of a squad leader stared her down suspiciously.In a part of Domina’s brain, mostly blocked by pain and scrambled words, was a lingering thought about that Earth sport Steven had talked about. Bakeball?

 

“Well that’s a small miracle.” Jet said. She frowned and gestured to the ruby with the arm gem to put the antenna down. “No success in getting in contact with everyone else. I have no clue what this message is supposed to mean.”

 

Domina could hear the message still playing from a screen somewhere in the room.

 

“Well, it seems to be a message from White Diamond herself regarding the origins of gems. Along with some, ahem, interesting revelations regarding a gems purpose.” Yellow Zircon said with an expression that wasn’t so much surprised as mildly amused. Blue Zircon shook her head.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous, White Diamond has barely been seen in millenia.” Blue Zircon threw her hands into large arcs. Jet at this point had actually turned to look at the opening of their hideaway and blinked when she saw Domina. “And from what I understand,” Blue Zircon continued as the voice from the screen ended. Domina straightened her clothes and nodded to Jet. “She no longer... sounds like that.”

 

“White Diamond did non habet quicquam with this I can tell you quia.” Domina said finally, wincing as her words jumbled, this was not helping her first impression. The remainder of the room turned towards her. The rubies cocked their head’s to the side, the zircons blinked startled, Jet sighed.

“Domina, I assume?” Jet asked. “Shards, Pink’s going to shatter me when she sees this.” Domina chuckled nervously.

 

“Me too. I told her I would be diligens.” Domina said.

 

“Exactly who are you?” The ruby leader asked suspiciously. That was simple enough.

 

“White Diamond.” She said firmly. Eyes went wide, and Domina tried to think of something to follow up with. It was easier to just give a friendly smile than to hope that she could piece together words that would be intelligible to the gems. Jet broke the silence, thoroughly unimpressed. 

 

“That red stuff is supposed to be on your inside right?” She asked. “We don’t have anything to help stop th-” Domina leaned against the wall to staunch the bleeding with the end of her coat. “...alright then.” Jet said. “So care to share what kind of shale is going on up there? Since apparently no one’s keeping me in the loop now.”

 

“Us!” The naval gem ruby interjected. Jet nodded.

 

“Us.” She corrected. 

 

“We were trying to distract maximede forces conatur, ut in planeta et Yellow Skinny et could- Jasper-” Domina said, then stopped when she saw Jet’s eye blink several times. She sighed and pointed at Blue Zircon, who yelped and flinched behind Yellow Zircon. “Screen? Can I borrow?” She asked. Blue zircon nodded slowly and handed it to Domina who typed swiftly. Then slid it over to Jet.

 

“They... You really thought this would work? Shards, how did you all manage to talk Red into this?” Jet asked with a rueful smile. Domina’s face darkened. Shards, no one had told Jet about Red?  She cleared the screen to start typing again and caught a glimpse of her reflection. Her face was bleeding from various cuts and littered with bruises... on the left side of her face. On the right was her eye tightly shut amongst a sea of white skin. No not skin. Domina raised a 

hand to the area and felt it. It was definitely hard light, Domina was more familiar with that feeling then any other. She stared at her closed eye and carefully switched eyes.                                                 

 

The cavern was gone, replaced by grass and a sky with a sun, that Domina knew was long dead, shining down on them. The screen was still there, Domina saw a grey iris and white diamond shaped pupil staring back at her.

 

“Something wrong, White Diamond?” Jet asked after Domina gasped. Domina glanced up and saw Jet but... not quite. Her gem wasn’t quite as regular, her form not quite as graceful. She saw that the rubies and zircons were also different. Rougher, less formed. She switched eyes quickly.

“Fine.” She said, quickly handing the zircon her screen back and moving towards the communications rig. “Let me see if I potest auxilium with the transmitter.”

 

***

“-ome in, this is Jet  6JB transmitting to confirm channel security.” Jet’s voice crackled over the receiver. Skinny briefly interrupted Pink Pearl’s pacing to dive over the communication console.

 

“Jet, this is Skinny. Channel is secure. Continue.”

 

“Skinny? Where’s Red at?” Jet asked. Blue took the speaker and Pink resumed her pacing. She should have been more... She could have... could have done what? What could she even do now? Domina could be... no, Pink Pearl was pretty sure she wasn’t dead but she could be hurt, stars’, she could have been captured. 

 

“White Diamond is with us, she’s- what? Um... she’s... fine.” Jet said, her voice was halting. Pink was too relieved to roll her eyes. Domina was fine, at least fine enough to convince someone she was was ok. 

 

“Good, good, Yellow Diamond has made it inside the Citadel, we need to move fast.”

 

“The Citadel? What’s she doing there?”

 

“Transmitting for-”

 

“Blue...” Feldspar said warningly. Pink glanced up and saw the alert flashing on screen.  _ Incoming projectiles. _ There was no way they had figured out where they were so quickly. 

 

“What the...” Blue said softly.

 

“Blue, what’s going on?” Jet asked impatiently. Pink had a new goal set in front of her. She had to tell herself that Domina was going to be fine and get focused on surviving an attack, again. 

 

“Head for the war pads!” She said in her most commanding voice. Blue nodded to her thankfully.

 

“Jet, we need to leave, but head towards the Citadel, there's a passage in-” Blue was cut off by a blast and the ship lurching forward in an attempt to keep steady.  Feldspar diverted power to the shields and the warp pads. 

 

“White, Steven, Yellow.” Pink said, picking out the first gems that crossed into her vision. “Bubble the poofed gems, send them to Earth.” She turned her attention to the warp 

 

“Blue, what’s going on?!” Jet shouted through the speaker.

 

“We’re under attack!” Blue said. “There's a passage into the Citadel, northeast, underneath the maintenance tunnels.” There was another massive boom and the groaning of ship structures collapsing. 

 

Pink turned her attention to the warp pads, barking locations for people to emerge at, making sure that the groups that were going were self-sufficient in their own right, making sure that everyone knew the plan.

 

“Wait for the signal, we’ll be with you,” Blue continued.

 

“What signal?!” 

 

“We don’t know. Probably the video. I have no clue what this crazy diamond is doing!” Blue shouted back, power was beginning to flicker. Pink hoped all the words were getting through.

 

“You’ll know it when you see it.” Blue finished before Feldspar grabbed her, tossing Blue over her shoulder, and grabbing Pink on her way to join Yellow Pearl on the warp pad. 

 

They entered the warp stream just as the hull of the head ship was violently exposed to the light of Homeworld, moments before the warp pad was destroyed.

 

***

 

Yellow Diamond tried her hand on the door again and this time it didn’t open. She paced her room in thought. Though maybe thought wasn’t exactly the right word. Contemplation maybe. Ideally, she should just fry the door lock and zap the gems outside as well as any that got in her way as she travelled the distance to the Citadel’s transmitter. But that had the potential to be... messy. Also, if she moved at full height she was going to be easier to spot. 

 

                                                                                                                                                                    So instead, she placed her hand over the pad for the door and shorted it in an action as effortless as breathing. She reduced her height to what had become much more familiar over the months and as the agate guards stationed outside the room rushed in, she flattened herself to the wall.

 

“Wha... where’d she go?” One of them asked. Yellow began to form lightning in her hand but paused. She might need that energy later. 

 

“Well we need to find her before Blue Dia- AH!” The other agate shrieked and Yellow’s staff knocked her to a ground. The first agate rushed her with a destabilizer. Yellow smacked it from her hand with one blow and with the next sent the gem skidding to the floor. She retrieved the destabilizer for herself, and quickly left the room. 

 

The hallways were vaster at a fraction of her normal height but at this height she was practically invisible to gems awaiting a twenty foot tall diamond. Another pair of guards were at the elevator. They were equally as surprised and easily taken care of. Yellow smiled satisfied as she rode two floors down. Almost done, this all was almost done. 

 

The door opened to the Citadel’s main control room. The room was quiet except for the whirring of machinery as she approached the transmitter. A quick manipulation of the controls brought up the broadcast program. The data store was inserted and the message began to play once again, this time for all the empire to hear.

 

That’s when the elevator door opened.

 

“Yellow.” Blue said, the cold wave of fear was starting to wash over her. “No one asked for an encore of that thing.”

  
  



	75. LXXV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Squish for helping me with plot section for this part. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter ;) see you friday

The lower echelons of Homeworld were as bright as the upper spires. They did not bustle as they had past. But there were hints and traces of forces moving through them. Even as the Diamond Flagship crashed to the ground, forces swiftly moved through the lower levels, into passages long disused. They were driven only by their desperation and the feeling that all that had come before would  _ not _ go to waste. Their steps drew closer to the Citadel as the edges of the Empire began to hear White Diamond’s voice recite snippets of her own words. Words that did not show the diamond as an all knowing being, but, simply as a gem, trying her best.

 

_ We were not designed for this, not one of us. We were not made to rebel, to forge our own path. We stepped forward into the unknown because we had to, and we’ve done it again and again. _

_ ****  _

 

“Your Brilliance?” Yellow Zircon’s voice cut through Domina’s concentration. It was hard enough to focus on summoning her sword while they were walking. Now, her concentration was broken. Thankfully, Jet’s irritated scoff covered her frustrated sigh.

 

“Please,” She said carefully, “Domina.”

 

“Ah yes.” Yellow Zircon said. She took a few bold steps to be next to Domina, subtly pushing the leg gem ruby out of the way. “Exactly what are...” She trailed off, her face the picture of tact. Domina took the meaning of her pauses.

 

“White Diamond tradiderunt her physical form facti sunt mihi. I have none of her memorias, just her gem potestatem, et consociata.” Domina said, then paused as she tried to simplify that enough to get around her minds word choice. “I am... half organic.” Then she smiled. “Like Steven, er Rose Quartz.”

 

“What?” Blue Zircon asked. “But she said she was Rose Quartz. How could she also be ‘Steven’?”

 

“He’s not.” Jet said. “Basically a gem reproduced with a human and you end up with one of them.” The zircons, and 4ND looked at Jet with horror, then looked back at Domina who nodded.

 

“But your form. That’s hard light.” Yellow Zircon said. Domina looked down at her arm, the white form had spread, and everywhere it was, she felt... nothing.

 

“Quia novi.” Domina said, she tore her eyes away from the growing patches, tore her thoughts away from the question of what would happen when the hard light consumed her. That wouldn’t happen, they would get to Steven in time. But for that she needed her sword. 

 

She focused, briefly closing her eye then pulling the sword from her gem. Pain splintered through her gem, and she heard gasps from the rubies, curses from Jet, and her own shriek of pain. But she pulled her sword through, even though she could feel the crack spider webbing across her gem. She opened her left eye and saw  _ a  _ sword. It was close enough in color but the edge was jagged and brutal looking. She dabbed the blood from her forehead and nodded.

 

It would do.    

 

_ In an ideal world, Beryl would have never seen combat, Amber wouldn’t give orders, and I would be nothing but an adornment. They often debated their purpose in the vastness of the universe; I heard it said once that that was why they outlined ours so stringently. That does not mean we have to accept it, not when we are capable of so much more. _

_ **** _

 

The guards of the Citadel were the most elite. Handpicked by Blue Diamond herself. Their forces had been greatly reduced by the events earlier in the day, both through the attacks of the new rebellion and the message sent by White Diamond, or what had been White Diamond. 

 

They were probably the most aware of all gems about the shift in the atmosphere that day. The way the common gems had sequestered themselves away even tighter after the dust settled around what had been the flagship. Trouble was brewing and they had to be on their guard. 

 

Nothing could have prepared them though, for the sight of a four armed, four eyed monstrosity heading directly for the Citadel. This fusion twirled an enormous hammer playfully. 

 

“Good Evening, Homeworld!” Sardonyx said, the gems at her feet gave her plenty of room to move. “Oh dear, never thought I’d get to say that.”  The amethysts at the end of the courtyard, six of them, immediately fused to face this behemoth but were knocked away.

 

“Now,” Sardonyx continued, the off colors and traitors to Homeworld marching in front of her. “I think this show has gone on for far far too long. Don’t you?”

 

_ We cannot afford to specialize. Not after all this. Everyone does the work that needs done to recover, Sandstone or Corundum we need as many hands as possible. They had the time to customize, to make each gem to suit their needs, and that's what caused us... And what will cause their downfall. _

****

Yellow returned to her normal size immediately, gripping her weapon for support against the onslaught of fear. Blue raised an eyebrow.

 

“Shapeshifting and summoning your weapon? Yellow, what are you doing?” Blue asked, walking towards the door. “You’re acting like a ruby.”

 

“As opposed to what ,Blue?” Yellow said through gritted teeth. The voices inside her, the ones that said she was foolish for even trying were getting louder.

 

“I’m not sure, White’s copy? Though, I suppose a change from  _ that _ has been a long time coming.” Blue said,then nodded her head out the door. “Walk with me?”

 

“Blue, I would rather you stop playing games.” Yellow said, the fear aura abated, but her grip on her staff didn’t loosen.

 

“I’m not going to fight you, Yellow. We both know that is futile. We can talk this out.” Blue said, she left Yellow standing in the control room. Yellow growled and followed her.

 

“We are way past the time for talking, Blue!” She said. Blue Diamond rolled her eyes, as they travelled upward into the Citadel proper

 

“And yet here you are, still talking.” Blue said, stepping off the elevator. Yellow yelled angrily and slammed at her with her staff. Blue reached out one hand and grabbed it, yanking it from Yellow with surprising strength and tossing it behind her where it turned into a shower of sparks. “Enough, Yellow!” She ordered. “This is ridiculous. You say what I’ve done is unforgivable, would you say the same if it was White that had done it?”

 

“White would never have-”

 

“That's a load of shale and you know it.” Blue shouted back at her. The fear and doubt were back, tinting the hallway outside the Citadel’s main meeting room as blue as Earth's skies. “How can you still protect her?!” Blue asked. Yellow fell to her knees, voices screaming that this was her fault, she had been the one that had let Domina bear the brunt of this, that she could have ended this if she had just said what had happened to Pink. “After knowing everything she lied to us about, after that video how can you still hold White to this pinnacle of greatness?!”

 

Somewhere from the depths of her memories emerged White, helping her up from the ground after she emerged, showing Yellow the gems that would make up her court, the planets that would be hers. How could she not? How could she allow herself to doubt. Blue had moved closer, seeing that Yellow was no longer a threat.

 

“We don’t have to be like her,Yellow, we don’t have to allow ourselves to grow soft and complacent.” Blue said. “We can do this together.”

 

_ You deserve input. _ Domina had said.  _ We’re going to figure this out together. _ Yellow could see Domina’s delight in sparring with her, Yellow Pearl’s determined face as she stood up for herself, Steven’s enthusiastic response to her small, small attempts at kindness, her attempts at being better. Was it White she still put on a pedestal? Or were those simply words left over? The last to be spoken from a gem who was better, who cared, and one who agreed with Blue on one point.

 

“You’re right.” Yellow said evenly, readying herself. “We can do it together.” She looked Blue in the eye. “All of us, together.” Yellow Diamond launched herself at Blue Diamond, pushing them both through the doors and into the chaos that had enveloped the meeting room.

 

_ And now, there is only me that remembers what we were. What we could become if we... if I don’t remain vigilant.  _

_ **** _

 

Just outside the Citadel was madness, Lapis and Sardonyx took on a majority of guards. They were interspersed with some of the other gems, Forest, Feldspar, 5XG. But most of the fighting had pushed into the Citadel proper. That’s where Steven would be, where Pearl would be. 

 

That's where she needed to be. So Domina ignored Jet’s orders, she ignored the grating pain in her gem as she gathered the winds around her and sped into the building. 

 

***

Battles weren’t getting easier. Even if the idea of pearls not being made for fighting was a useless concept, Yellow Pearl certainly didn’t enjoy it. Then again her ‘weapon’ was more on the defensive side. Then again, she watched as Steven charged a line of gems, Steven didn’t seem to have many problems with that. 

 

“On your left, Yelp.” Bismuth said, moving in to stand next to Yellow Pearl. Yellow turned immediately, shoving off an agate, then ducking so Bismuth could slash at her, sending another gem clattering to the ground.

 

The doors to the hallway exploded. And Yellow, along with a dozen other gems, dove out of the way to avoid being crushed by the two full sized Diamonds who had practically flown through it. 

 

Yellow Diamond was shoved backwards into the wall and Blue Diamond floated to her feet. Yellow Pearl felt the anguish overcome her, to the point where her shield dissipated.

 

“That’s enough!” She shouted. Yellow Pearl could see her Diamond struggle to her feet, lightning sparking from her fingertips, trying to summon her weapon. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Blue Pearl, leaning on her axe with a death grip, her now visible eyes, were dry, but her face twisted with such pain that it looked unbearable.

 

Yellow Pearl moved towards her and grabbed her hand, pulling herself to her feet and putting an arm around Blue Pearl. In the end, Diamonds’ pearls always had each other.

 

“Blue Diamond.” Blue Pearl rasped out. Her voice trembling as it grew louder, she leaned on Yellow for support as she fought to take steps forward. “I beat you once! I can do it again!” Then all at once, she was gone from Yellow Pearl’s grasp, leaping at the diamond. She fell short. And through her tears, Yellow Pearl saw Blue Diamond impassively kick her to the side.

 

“Blue Diamond! Stop this!” Steven shouted, his tears were just as bad as her own but Connie’s face was clear. She stood next to him, sword at the ready, staring at the guards that had surrounded them. They also had been brought to their knees.

 

Blue Diamond paused, and her eyes focused on Steven.

 

“Rose Quartz’s son.” She said. “You paid for your mother’s crimes once, and now they are not even hers. You could have slunk away from all of this.” She walked towards Steven, heedless of the gems that were caught in her way. Their gems fell to the floor. “No matter, I’ll deal with you first.”

 

***

Pink felt the winds before she saw Domina, they felt odd but she thought nothing of it. The regret of not being more vigilant as Sunstone gnawed at her. She heard blue pearl, then Steven and her diamond and then the winds grew stronger and she finally saw Domina from across the room.

 

She could see the blood dripping from her gem from across the room, and fought the urge to scream. She had one eye closed and her skin was nonexistent in someplace, replaced with pure white. 

 

Pink resisted the urge to scream as Domina rose again, unsteadily, one eye open wide and trained on Steven as Blue Diamond loomed over her. Her gem was held together only by the skin around it. 

 

***

She couldn’t think straight anymore. So much pain, so many words, so many events all jumbled up. If she spoke, she didn’t even know if Latin would emerge. 

 

But Steven was in danger and she needed Steven, and more importantly, Steven shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t have to pay for what she had done. She flew towards him, though she couldn’t stay level in the air and ended up tumbling between Steven and Blue Diamond.

 

“Domina?” Blue Diamond asked, her voice horrified.

 

“Domina!” Steven cried out. She could stop it, she could stop all of it, she could fix this, this mess that this gem in her head had caused. The line to her powers was frayed but she yanked all the same, and it snapped.

 

She felt her forehead explode. She could feel shards, her shards cutting through her as she fell. There were voices shouting around her as she could blearily see the white light where her body should be, fade, leaving nothing but dust. Above her was screaming, Steven screaming, louder than when he had been corrupted. And water was hitting her face, hotly as she felt her body fade and as she looked towards the white light coming towards her.

 

Stevens tears needed no encouragement from Blue Diamond’s rapidly fading aura. His screams of agony were as genuine as if his gem had been the one to shatter. His tears fell on Domina’s face, cutting through the blood and the dirt until it began to dissolve into dust like the rest of her body. He wasn’t the only one screaming. Pink Pearl was louder than he could ever be. The dust of Domina filtered through his fingers and onto the floor. He stared at it, willing for anything to happen. 

 

After a moment, there was a glow, and the dust coalesced with the shards of gem, but grew far bigger than it ever had been in Domina’s forehead. It grew to the size of Yellow’s gem when it had sat in the sands in front of the temple. And it’s appearance cut sharper than the death of the gem’s previous owner.


	76. LXXVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, sorry about the absence Friday, I had a very busy weekend, the stress of which got to me. However, I'm back! Thanks to squish for betaing. I do have to say I did enjoy all your comments from last chapter and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!
> 
> See you friday (for sure, I promise)

What had been a battlefield had gone completely and utterly still. Not quite, just still Blue Diamond was frozen standing over White’s gem, Yellow Diamond had barely propped herself against the wall when Domina had barreled in.  Others were scattered around the room, in various stages of shock. Pink Pearl’s initial scream of horror had petered out. She was closest to the gem now and had pulled at Domina’s tattered coat as if in a trance. Steven was next to her, staring at what he had done in watery eyed shock. There was a crash as the door flew open again, several gems strode in, including a gigantic fusion, following a black pearl.

 

“Blue, we... what happened?” The Black pearl asked, stopping in the doorway. The fusion defused and White Pearl and Garnet fell to the ground, staring at the gem in front of Steven.

 

“Is that...” White Pearl said, her hands drawing to her chest.

 

“No...” Garnet said, her visor sparkling out of place. Amethyst was speechless. Several gems looked to her, some to Blue Pearl and the rest to Blue Diamond. Yellow Diamond stood up to say something, though she wasn’t sure what. 

 

The sound of a gem reforming cut her off and flooded her mind with every curse that she had ever spoken. The white diamond rose from its place on the floor and everyone scrambled back as it shone and spun in the air. The white light of a gem’s physical form began to expand, growing to the size of Yellow’s head before immediately retracting. The gem fell to the floor, and on reflex, Yellow lunged forward to catch it.

 

It felt heavy in her hand, far heavier than it realistically should be. It was like trying to lift a dropship pod by hand. She could feel tears flooding her eyes and clutched the gem so hard it hurt her hand. She bit down on her lip and tried not to think about what this all meant. She couldn’t do this alone, she wasn’t supposed to do this alone. That wasn’t the plan. That had never been the plan. 

 

“What happens now?” Blue Pearl asked. Yellow Diamond closed her eyes, a traitorous voice within her was already snapping about how lesser gems could never begin to understand her pain. What was the point of any plan now that Domina was... 

 

She shook her head, opened her eyes and saw Pink Pearl again, she hadn’t moved though. Steven and Connie had both put an arm around her. She looked at Blue Pearl again and saw her eyes, staring at Pink holding Domina’s coat, before they flickered to the gem in Yellow Diamond’s hand. Yellow Diamond looked down at White’s gem again, Domina wasn’t... She wasn’t... she was gone. She looked at the pearls, the Crystal Gems and the New Rebellion that had followed them all this way. The ones they- no  _ she _ had promised to help. 

 

“Do what you need to do.” Yellow said. “This changes nothing.” She turned to the scant few guards still standing uneasily around the Citadel's hall. “You are dismissed. New orders will be given to you once this... mess is sorted out.” She said, keeping her voice even, putting on that facade of an uncaring unemotional ruler as easily as she has tossed it off in Pink’s room aboard the Zoo. The agates and other quartzes nervously looked between herself and Blue Diamond before Yellow arched an eyebrow and they backed out of the room, babbling their apologies. Yellow thought she might have seen Jet snicker.

 

“You can’t honestly believe I’m just going to stand down, Yellow.” Blue Diamond said. Yellow didn’t know if she intended the bolt of lightning fired at Blue as a warning shot or if she simply missed. 

 

“Yes I can.” Yellow said, her voice calmer than she had expected it to be. She turned to face Blue Diamond, who had taken a step back from her in an alarm. “Because I am not afraid to be the only Diamond involved in what comes next.” She said, stepping closer to Blue. Blue retreated, eyes wide. Yellow felt an aura rushing too her, maybe it was fear, maybe it was grief, she didn’t know, and didn’t care. Nothing could outdo what she felt now. 

 

“I’ve already held this empire together by myself and I will do it again if I have to. Domina was adamant that you wouldn’t be shattered. But you and I both know that White would have shattered you the moment you attacked us.” 

 

Yellow raised the gem in her hand and held it at Blue’s eye level as if it was a weapon. Her voice finally started to break as her facade began to crumble. She wasn’t so adept at hold it in place anymore. And stars, she had had enough grief in the past few months for the next five thousand years. “And you better hope that by some miracle she doesn’t come out of this gem.”  

 

***

“ _ Well I’m not alone this time.”  _ Domina had said before they fused. And she had smiled with such a relieved expression. Pink had been reminded of the aftermath of their first fusion, that warm smile that graced Domina’s features and made Pink feel like more than just a pearl. 

 

She had been with Domina longer than she had been with Pink Diamond. She had watched Domina grow, seen her first steps, heard her first words. She had seen her mature and develop into a woman that was so much stronger than she should ever have had to be. She had seen her become a better Diamond than White Diamond could have ever dreamed of being.

 

And now she was gone.  

 

Pink clutched the coat, more out of the need to hold something. There had always been a lingering horrible thought in her mind that one day Domina would be gone, that something would happen and she would be alone again. But even her most paranoid of thoughts could never have dreamed up this. 

 

“Pink?” Steven asked from next to her. Around her, things were going on. The other two diamonds had left the room, taking Domina’s-... White Diamond’s gem with them. She didn’t pay any attention to them. “Pink, I’m sorry.” Steven said, he was crying, so was she, for once. Silent tears made tracks down her face. When was the last time she had cried? When was the last time she had grieved? Not for Pink and certainly not for White Diamond. 

 

“Maybe... maybe she’ll reform?” Connie asked, she was crying too but different, more incredulous tears. “She can’t... she can’t be gone!” She was echoing Pink’s thoughts, but that didn’t give her any comfort. They were both hugging her, soft, warm human skin against her projection. But Pink didn’t move, she didn’t say anything for a long time. She just clutched at the coat, the same coat Domina had worn so many times, now stained and torn. Not unusual for her clothes. But now there was no reason to mend them either.

 

“Pink...” White’s voice was next, she sent Connie and Steven away and sat next to her. “I’m so sorry, Domina was-”

 

“Don’t.” Pink said, her voice was not as strong as when she had asked White Diamond what happened to her original diamond. “Don’t try to comfort me, White.” Her voice wavered and tears spilled through, she buried her face in the coat.

 

“Pink- it’ll be o-”

 

“No it won’t!” Pink Pearl shouted. “It won’t! She’s gone! She’s dead, White! Dead! She’s not coming back! She’s not reforming!”

 

“Well no, most likely not,” White said, nervously backing away from her.

 

“And it’s my fault, every gem I’ve ever served under ends up fracked one way or another!” Pink’s words shot out in between ugly sobs. “And yes I know, that’s not what’s going to happen now! I’m not going to get shuffled off to another gem. And I DON’T CARE!” The breaths Pink didn’t need came faster as she hyperventilated. Finally White pulled her close and let her cry into her shoulder. Eventually her sobs subsided enough that she could whisper out the conclusion of her impassioned rant. 

 

“I just want my baby back.”  

  
  


***

 

Inside her gem, White Diamond was awake for the first time in four thousand six hundred and thirty three years. And upon realizing that realized that something had gone horribly wrong. Of course that’s usually what would have had to have happened for a Diamond to end up inside her gem. They were sturdy. Nothing short of blowing up in a ship or getting stabbed directly with a sword, could poof a Diamond. She did a cursory check of her form, she hadn’t changed it in millenia, no need to now. And began to reform, Vitus would most likely have questions though hopefully Pink’s Pearl did the courtesy of explaining to him- At the thought of her... human, White Diamond stopped. Her light receded into her gem as she realized that she shouldn’t be there at all. That what the whole point of giving up her form had been, she wasn’t supposed to exist anymore.


	77. LXXVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear these updates just get later and later, but we're getting into the last few chapters. are you guy's ready? I'm not. 
> 
> Thanks to squish for helping with the chapter and I really hope you guys like it. this has been a long time coming and...I hope I did it justice.
> 
> see you Monday!

The simplest explanation was that something had happened to her and Vitus’ child. But even if something happened, she shouldn’t be conscious. When she gave up her form for the child that was it, she wasn’t supposed to come back ever. She had no reason to, she had proved well enough that she was a danger to the empire she had created. 

 

So something had happened to the child. The most direct way to figure out what would be to reform now and demand answers from Yellow. But she should not be the one reforming. White Diamond stared at her form again, surely... surely the data was all there still. The parts of Vitus that had allowed her child to exist had to still be somewhere. 

 

White Diamond cycled through her previous forms and didn’t find any that looked unusual. Which was... distressing to say the least. There were too many variables at work here, much like anything regarding Vitus and the things that came from that cursed planet. Stars, she didn’t even know what the child looked like. Simulations had been run but still there was no concrete way of knowing how human genetics would interact with gem energy.

 

There was one other thing she could try... though she was loath to attempt it. Poking around in the memories stored within her own gem was emotionally draining at best and potentially hazardous to the stability of the memories therin. If she accidently damaged her own that could be catastrophic. And if the child’s memories were there as well... she could possibly ruin any chance of fixing this.

 

After a moment of concentration, her memories were laid out before her. White Diamond gingerly stepped around those from her early life, following an invisible winding trail to the later ones. She could catch glimpses of the other diamonds’ emergences, wars fought, and she paused in front of the memory of Pink’s shattering. Then she pulled herself away from the cloud of pain that surrounded  _ that _ particular memory. 

 

When she reached the end, there was nothing. She should have expected that. She shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up. White Diamond collapsed to whatever passed for a floor in this mindscape, and she stared at the final memory, the last one that her physical form had recorded. She saw flashes of her quarters aboard main ship of the first fleet section, and standing there, frozen in a moment of time was Vitus.  She was far too old to react on impulse. She had seen time and time again the consequences that could have. And she could have stopped herself from reaching out towards the memory to experience it. But she didn’t. What was the point?

 

When simply manipulating memories, White Diamond felt fragments of the emotions produced by them. She had been careful over the many millenia to keep her emotions contained when she did so. Any lapses of attention could reverse hours of work carefully editing a gem’s memories. 

 

But when entering a memory so fully, especially one she herself had experienced, the emotions present were overwhelming.

 

“Are you sure you want to do this, White?” Vitus asked, staring at her face to face. White Diamond felt her fear and her worry all over again. 

 

“It is a little late to decide otherwise, Vitus.” White Diamond heard her voice, heard the faint laugh that hadn’t been heard in millenia. She looked at Vitus and saw the worry in his eyes. How far had she fallen by allowing an organic creature this far into her life. She hated organics. She always had, and deservedly so. But Vitus wasn’t one of the ones who had created her. And curse him, he cared, even though there was no reason for him too. 

 

She missed him, even though she had no right to.

 

The rest of the scene played out, and White Diamond watched the light fill the room, signifying her end and the child's beginning. A wave of memories hit her at full force before she had time to recover her shield against the emotions they carried.

 

There were so many and they hit her at a rapid pace. She felt pain, joy, sadness, grief, and anger. She was thrust into a memory of being five years old and begging,  _ begging _ to be tossed higher. She was scolded, she cried, she felt pride, and laughed, she laughed so, so much. And as she was buffeted by the emotions, as she saw this life play out in front of her, there was a presence forming. 

 

Planets were conquered, gems shattered, tears shed but still this child marched forward. She felt the betrayal as the child learned what she had done, what White Diamond had left for her and when finally she felt the gem shatter, White Diamond’s head cleared and she was staring at... well, someone. Her form was as indistinguishable as herself in this place but she was there, and as confused as White Diamond had been upon waking.

 

“...White Diamond?” A voice asked, it sounded like a colony gem, one that emerged on some barely useful asteroid, and had only ever heard stories of Homeworld. Though there was a hint a Vitus’ swagger within it. White Diamond smiled.

 

“White Diamond.” She responded. The form audibly frowned.

 

“My name is Domina, what happened?” She said shortly. “Where...” The form twisted to take in the whole area and White Diamond allowed the memories to retreat back into the lower recesses of the gem. 

 

“We are with, in my, er your... well-” White Diamond paused.

 

“The gem.” The child, Domina said. “How? This shouldn’t be possible, I should be dead!”

 

“I believe you would be if it wasn’t for...” A realization from the memories hit White Diamond. “ Another? Rose Quartz survived and produced another-”

 

“Yes, yes, Steven’s like me,” Domina said flippantly. “So he can restore broken gems? That’s... useful but it should have worked earlier, for Rose Quartz, she had to have tried.”

 

“It’s unlikely that all the pieces were ever gathered.” White Diamond said with a slight frown, she had been interrupted twice now. “And it wasn’t some quartz he was restoring, it was a Diamond. You notice that I was conscious here initially and you were not. I suppose building an alliance with him was beneficial, even if it did result in-”

 

“In what? Me getting healed? Look, if you want to reform you should have done that alre-”

 

“Enough, child.” White Diamond snapped, stars’, this one clearly had been influenced by Yellow, though with none of the manners to keep herself civil. “I do not wish to reform, I gave up my right to a physical form when I decided to bring you into existence.”

 

“Along with giving me every problem you decided to abandon.” 

 

“Excuse me?” White Diamond felt her anger begin to rise.

 

“Pink’s shattering, the incredibly biased laws, many gems with altered memories, forty-four planets, a little over a billion gems on Homeworld alone, though I suppose it’s a lot less now.” Domina said, there was another tone in her voice, not Vitus’ swagger, but something of a tired authority. Stars’ Domina sounded like her as well.

 

“Yes, I suggest that you look for other planets to implant with a diamond and have Blue sha-” 

 

“Oh no you don’t! You gave up your right to make decisions too.”

 

“Don’t interrupt me!” White Diamond raised her voice. “You can’t honestly trust Blue after that betrayal, she nearly killed you and Yellow!”

 

“Because you lied to her!”

 

“I did what I had to do to keep us together!”

 

“You did what you had to do because you were afraid!” Domina spat back. She was staring at White Diamond eye to metaphorical eye. They couldn’t hurt each other here, the only weapons they had here were words and... It was obvious that Domina had spent far longer working on hers than she had.

 

“...Reform and end this child.” White Diamond said. 

 

“Why, scared of me too?” Domina said mockingly.

 

“What is your problem? I gave you life!” White Diamond snapped.

 

“And you gave me status and you gave me everyone that’s ever been afraid of you, and all of your messes to fix! I didn’t ask for it!”

 

“Well it’s yours now.” White Diamond said, “I told you to take it, to do your best with it. To be better than me.” 

 

“How...” Some of the anger finally seemed to fall out of the child. “How could you just give up? They were you’re gems, Yellow and Blue, they were your... family.”

 

“Gems don’t have family.” White Diamond corrected.

 

“Bullshit.” 

 

“What?”

 

“It’s... that’s nonsense, of course they do. Pearl’s family.”

 

“Pearl’s a servant.”

 

“Not to me, and... not anymore. Mossy and Zee are family”

 

“Moss Agate and Milky Quartz 9ZQ are passably respectable gems but they are not family.” She felt a stare from Domina.

 

“Why are you like this?” Domina asked. 

 

“Why are you like that?” White Diamond countered. “You’ve been alive for well over four thousand years now. You’ve seen how fragile lesser gems are, it’s not worth the energy to grow attached.”

 

“You didn’t always feel like that.” Domina said. “I read your hidden journals. The ones on the old station.” 

 

“You weren’t supposed to,” White Diamond cursed having even kept those around. “And I learned. You will in time.” She continued. “Maybe another ten thousand years and you’ll figure it out.”

 

“No.” Domina said firmly.

 

“No?” White Diamond asked amused. “You think you’ll keep up your naive optimism for eternity then?”

 

“No, it’s not optimism! These are my gems and I will always protect them!” 

 

“...that’s a noble goal.”

 

“You still sound like you don’t believe me.” 

 

“I said as much long before Yellow even emerged.” White Diamond said with a sigh, then looked at her form that still stood, ready for editing. “Well with a proper form, I suppose you’ll have a better chance of reaching eternity.”

 

“What?” Domina asked flatly. 

 

“Well, your organic body was destroyed, I assume.” White Diamond said with a shrug. “So when you reform your body will be hardlight.”

 

“What?!” Domina said, “But, no! I’m half gem, that can’t-”

 

“Domina.” White Diamond said, the name fell off her tongue easily. “The rules are no longer at play obviously. Take it, it’s more efficient anyway.”

 

“I like my body!” A different form began to take shape, this one was much, much shorter, and skinny, more like a malformed Goshenite than a Diamond. “I mean, it aches and needs more maintenance than any machine but it’s mine!” Domina said angrily. “I’m not a gem I’m just... I’m just me.” 

 

“Is that what you look like?” White Diamond asked as more details began to form on the frame. Dark skin dotted with iridescence, Black hair that was short around the gem and long at the back, long nose, a thin face.

 

“What?” Domina said, snapping out of her angry rant. “Oh... It is. Though... shards if I keep the clothes I’ll reform with them stuck to me permanently.”

 

“That... is generally how it works.” White Diamond said, then after a moment's thought, “You look like Vitus. So much like him.” There was another pause.

 

“He always said I looked like you.” Domina said, there was yet another uncomfortable pause. “Did you love him? Did you really?” She asked.

 

“I...” White Diamond hesitated. Could it really be called love? “I’m... not sure.” She said finally. She could feel the disappointment and anger radiating off of Domina, but the child said nothing. “But I do miss him.” She said finally. Domina still didn’t say anything, but she seemed to calm down.

 

“If I form with all my organs, I’d be... something closer right?” Domina said, “I probably can’t rebuild all my cells but... I can get close.” Her voice sounded both hopeful and desperate at the same time. 

 

“You  _ might _ be able too.” White Diamond said, “Or they would just be vestigial. You are not organic anymore Domina.”

 

“...I have to try.” Domina said.

 

“Then try, for the stars’ sake, try.” White Diamond smiled slightly. “You might be stubborn enough to make it work.”


	78. LXXVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for being patient with my update schedule. We're getting through the rest of this fic, one chapter at a time. I am really sorry that I haven't gotten to responding to comments yet, thats on my list to take care of after I get some stuff for my real world job taken care of.
> 
> in the meantime enjoy this unbeta'd chapter. 
> 
> see you friday.

The week after Pink Diamond was shattered Yellow Diamond remembered being  restless. She was cooped up on the ship with a terrifyingly emotional White Diamond, with gems that were in the process of retreating. And meanwhile Blue was inert, her misshapen gem putting even more unease on her while she dealt with White.

 

In the days after Domina shattered at least she was busy. The process of freeing the gems that had been harvested was tedious, and distressing. Not to mention the process of freeing the pearls.  Thankfully, Blue and the New Rebellion were taking care of that, with the help of her gems and those from the fleet.

 

The gems that had been under Domina were... coping. Moss Agate had simply excused herself. Zee had punched a pillar, left for a few hours then returned with a group of quartzes who she had bullied into helping sift through the rubble of the headship. Peridot 9NY went still before hurrying off to the other peridots, before returning to Zee when she reappeared.

 

Yellow had been avoiding Pink Pearl.

 

She kept the gem with her though. She needed to be there first especially if... especially when White Diamond reformed. After the first, failed reformation the gem had been dormant as usual. Yellow had no idea how long White took to reform, she never had in all the year’s Yellow knew her. Maybe, if they were lucky, she never would.

 

“Shouldn’t you be packing?” Yellow Diamond asked when Steven walked into the room she had staked out. Blue’s filing system made absolutely no sense and she would rather comb through all 100,000,000 files individually than talk to Blue about it. She needed to meet with the district heads and the inner colony heads in the next 24 hours or so and try to reign in what was going on off planet. Steven, Connie, and the Crystal Gems were supposed to be leaving soon. She knew there has been a discussion about the New Rebellion gems that had been sent to earth but someone else was handling that, Jet, or maybe her pearl.

 

“I thought I’d come see if she’s reformed yet.” Steven said, seconds later he had hopped up to her chair arm, near where Yellow had set the gem.

 

“She obviously hasn’t.” Yellow said, she scrolled through the records on projects that has been started under Blue’s single rule.

 

“Well yeah.” Steven said, he sat down and pulled his knees to his chest.

 

“So why are you here Steven?” Yellow frowned as she flipped to the next section, why would Blue follow that up with cultural proposals?

 

“Do... What are you going to do if...”

 

“When White reforms?” Yellow corrected him, her internal complaint system briefly paused to allow her emotions time to re bottle themselves. Thinking about Domina’s gem exploding and her body falling to dust over top her coat, that wouldn’t help the situation.

 

“Yellow!” Steven said for what was probably the third time.

 

“Hm?” Yellow grunted noncommittally.

 

“What are you going to do, do you think she’ll listen, do you think White Diamond will listen?” Steven asked “What if we told her it was what Domina wanted would that help?”

 

“I don’t know.” Yellow said, the words weren’t coming into focus in front of her.

 

“Ok well what are you going to do?”

 

“I told you Steven I don’t know!” Yellow snapped, she smacked the screen to the side and it closed in a sparkle of light. “I don’t know what I going to say to her! I don’t know what I’m going to do when she decides to ruin everything we’ve started!” Yellow got to her feet and back from the gem, staring at it like it was a live bomb. “I should just bubble-” She caught herself, then caught herself catching herself. Even now knowing how much White had lied to her, even after seeing how delicate the situation was, she couldn’t remove White Diamond from it. She couldn’t do what was necessary.

 

“But what if Domina comes out...” Steven said staring at the gem. Yellow sighed and collapsed in the chair.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

****

 

“How are you even supposed to tell if the hair feels right?” Domina frowned as she inspected her head. Shard’s this was hard to think about, of course made all the harder by the presence of ‘Her Brilliance’.

 

“You don’t? Why would that even matter?” White Diamond asked.

 

“It matters to me!” Domina said. The elder Diamond sighed.

 

“Stop wasting time, Don’t you have gems to get back to?”

 

“I do but I can’t go back like... this.”

 

“Like what?” White Diamond looked over the form again. Somehow she had a strange look on her face without having a face. Domina was really starting to not like being inside her gem, it made semantics complicated.

 

“I want to feel like me, not like a.. Not like a gem.”

 

“You are a gem.”

 

“I’m half gem.” Domina corrected. She swore she could feel White Diamond roll her eyes.

 

“Your body’s hard light, or at least it will be when you finally settle on your form.” White Diamond said, her voice had long since stopped hiding her irritation and Domina had to admit, it was kind of funny.

 

“Please, Yellow took nearly a month the last time she reformed. I’m just being particular. I want...” Domina trailed off. She wanted things to go back to normal but... better, she wanted to go to boring meetings and fall asleep on Pearls shoulder while they worked side by side. She wanted to watch what happened when Yellow Diamond was focused on one area and how she acted when the weight of the universe wasn’t on her shoulders. She wanted to see Blue Diamond go through the same transformation she had seen Yellow go through on Earth. She wanted to spend time with Steven, Heal the gems in the temple, hand out with Amethyst and Garnet, spar with White Pearl. She wanted to see pearls in the fleet and watch the empire try new things. And she wanted to experience it as herself.

 

She wanted every possibility, every happy ending. But... she couldn’t. Not like this.

 

“It’s never going to be perfect Domina.” White Diamond said. “It’s already far more detailed than it should be.” She hesitated. “We were never supposed to be organic, just an easily produced approximation.”

 

“...I understand.” Domina said. “Who- who made you?” She felt the presence that was her mother still for just a moment.

 

“Suffice it to say that the civilization that created me and the first gems was very old at the time, and by now I’m sure has long since ran its’ course.”

 

“That wasn’t really an answer.” Domina said.

 

“That’s all you are getting,” White Diamond said stubbornly. Domina sighed and looked at her body, er  _ form _ again. It looked close enough, her skin was pockmarked with scars in the right places, her hair had the stripe of white, like Steven she would be marked permanently.

 

“Fine.” Domina said. “I’ll reform, what happens to you?”

 

“I imagine I’ll cease to exist again.”

 

“...and you’re ok with that?” Domina asked.

 

“I don’t have a choice child, either you reform or I do. And to be honest,” White Diamond moved towards her form and Domina saw the fringes of her hair move behind her ear. “I don’t envy you for the work you have a head of you.” Domina snorted.

 

“You did say you wanted me to ‘provide new insights and lead the the empire into a grand age’.” Domina imitated White Diamond’s voice. Once again, she could feel her mother rolling her eyes.

 

“I certainly did, though I wasn’t expecting pearls to play such a big roll.”

 

“No one ever expects the pearls.” Domina said. “But they’re why it’s going to work.” White diamond was silent for a moment then nodded.

 

“I think you’re right.” White Diamond said. “Domina. It has been an honor to meet you.” she turned from the form in the center of the gem and looked at Domina directly. “And I am so proud of you.”

 

***

 

The gem began to rise. Yellow Diamond saw it from the corner of her eye and scrambled to her feet. Steven scooted back away from it and looked at her apprehensively. White Diamonds gem floated to the center of the room and slowly the form began to expand. Yellow felt sparks form in her hand. She had to do it, she had to dissipate White Diamond the moment she formed fully. They could bubble her, release her when everything calmed down. Or stars maybe never. She would be livid when she reformed again.

 

The initial form was elegant, with a long flowing skirt and sharply constrained hair. It quickly transformed into a form Yellow was more familiar with, high peaks of hair, a cape with wide shoulders. Yellow steeled herself, holding up her hand, ready to take the cheap shot when White was at her weakest, when suddenly the form collapsed.

 

The gem itself shrunk to be no larger than the  Steven’s own and there was a flash of blinding light before another form began to take shape. A tall lanky form, with wild swept back hair began to take shape as it lowered to the ground. Yellow Diamond shrunk in amazement and her eyes began to fill with tears. Steven whooped and jumped down next to her, as Domina’s form solidified.

 

“Domina you’re- oh..” Steven covered his eyes instantly.

 

“Sorry, sorry.” Domina said covering herself. “Is Pearl nearby? She usually carries extra clothes and Ack!” Yellow Diamond cut her off by hugging her tight, trying to hold back her tears.

 

“Stars, I thought we lost you.” Yellow Diamond said. Domina chuckled, relieved.

 

“Yes, Steven by the way your amazing and I am seriously wondering why we bubbled rose quartzes away.” Domina grinned around Yellow at Steven.

 

“I’ll uh.. I’ll go get Pink, be right back!” Steven shouted before running out of the room.

 

“How... how did you ever.” Yellow Diamond pulled away from Domina who immediately crossed her arms over her chest. “Domina you’re organic!”

 

“Not anymore.” Domina said with a slightly dampened smile. “How long have I been out? What’s going on?”

 

“A- a few days, just clean up, I haven’t spoken to blue in- What do you mean not anymore?”

 

“I mean no anymo-” Domina repeated only to be cut off when she was tackled from the doorway by Pink Pearl.

 

“Domina!” Pink Pearl shouted, she was crying, still crying, her words tumbled out in a blur as she held Domina close. Domina laughed, tears welling up in her own eyes

 

Yellow Diamond turned to the door and saw that the doorway was crowded with gems, all with expressions in various shades of relief.

 

Everything was going to be ok.


	79. LXXIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow.. just wow. this is basically the last chapter, though there is an epilogue that will be going up monday, I'll have more words to say then but thank you all so much for following me on this crazy story. I hope you've had as much fun with it as I have.
> 
> thank you so much to squish for staying up late to beta, I couldn't have gotten through this with out you.
> 
> see you guys monday.

She should have been thankful she didn’t end up shattered. Sodalite’s pearl remembered the pinch of air pressure suddenly increasing around her before she found herself conscious in her gem. The form she took was simple, much like her previous one but with a sheer shirt in place of the cape Sodalite had ordered at her creation. And then she reformed, simple, quick, no fuss. She should have been more hesitant considering the looks of betrayal she had seen on everyone’s faces before she disappeared into her gem. But there was no use delaying the inevitable. 

 

Surprisingly, when Sodalite’s pearl opened her eyes she found herself in a cavern. It was bathed in red light and smelled like sulfur. When she looked up, there were bubbles in a cloud above her.

 

“It’s not a harvesting room, just incase you were worried.”

 

Sodalite’s pearl looked down and saw Steven smiling at her uneasily.

 

“Steven? Where... Where am I?”

 

“The temple on Earth, it’s been a while.” Steven said. “We uh... we won.”

 

“Oh.” She looked around even more uneasy. “Why did you free me then?”

 

“Domina wanted to talk to you.” Steven said, he jumped on the ledge to the doorway and offered her a hand up, like he had back when she had released Jasper. The idea of speaking to White Diamond was... terrifying, but what other choice did she really have?

 

She took his hand and followed Steven out of the temple. The exit to the temple was surrounded by what she assumed was an organic dwelling. There were several gems on the couch, the Crystal Gems, a black pearl, Pink, and Mauve. They all glanced her way when she exited and she didn’t miss the hardening of their faces.

 

“Come on, she’s upstairs.” Steven said, stepping on to a warp pad. Sodalite’s pearl hesitated before following him. ‘Upstairs’ was the palm of some statuesque hand. Two machines sat to the side, near the warp pad, and a line was strung between the fingers with several articles of clothing hanging from it.

 

White Diamond sat with her back to the warp pad, feet dangling over the edge. 

 

“The dryer’s done, but there’s no basket up here.” White Diamond said, she turned around and looked at Steven. “And last time I tried to take them down without a basket, the socks fell out of the warp stream.”

 

“Yeah, I think Garnet found them out by the forge when she went to go see Bismuth yesterday.” Steven said casually, he looked at Sodalite’s pearl and gestured for her to step off the warp pad. “I can go get a basket. I think it’s full of my jeans. We’re still really behind on laundry.” 

 

Sodalite’s pearl was practically frozen to the stone just off the warp pad. White Diamond hadn’t even acknowledged her yet. She didn’t seem angry, then again she hadn’t seemed angry when she crushed Sodalite’s pearl’s form.

 

“That’s fine.” White Diamond said. “No rush.”

 

Steven warped behind her and White Diamond finally turned her attention to Sodalite’s pearl. Her smile had faded but she still didn’t look angry.

 

“Your Brilliance, I-I... I can’t simply apologize.” Sodalite’s pearl said, her words breaking from her in a rush. “I am at your mercy, please,please know that I can’t deny responsibility for-”

 

White Diamond held up a hand and Sodalite’s pearl’s mouth snapped shut.

 

“Sit with me, Sodes?” She asked, using her other hand to pat the stone next to her. Sodalite’s pearl hesitated before closing the distance between them and sitting, carefully, next to White Diamond. “I am sorry, can I call you Sodes? If you picked a name I never heard it, Amethyst was referring to you as Sodes on the way back.”

 

“You can call me whatever you wish, Your Brilliance.” Sodalite’s pearl said meekly. White Diamond sighed slightly, and stared forward over the ocean in silence for a moment. 

 

The beach was directly below them. On it was a dart from a colony dropship, along with a crew of nephrites milling around, playing some sort of game with Lapis Lazuli and one of the peridots. The one that followed the elite gem around. It was late afternoon, the last time Sodalite’s pearl had been on Earth there hadn’t been time for her to appreciate the scenery. But, she had to admit, there was something beautiful in the atmospheric changes on a planet barely touched by gems.

 

“I assume Steven told you we won.” White Diamond said.

 

“Yes, Your Brilliance.”

 

“You were with us long enough to know I prefer Domina.” White Diamond said with a wry smile.

 

“I er... I meant no offense... Domina.”

 

“I know.” Domina said. She sighed and hesitantly Sodalite’s pearl looked at her. she was still facing forward but there was something different about her. She seemed... brighter, her points of iridescence were much less muted since the last time Sodalite’s pearl had seen her. “We lost a lot, some of it was because of you, others weren’t related to you at all.”

 

“Your Brilliance, I’m so sor-”

 

“Don’t,” Domina said, holding up her hand again. “I’m not here to carve you a new facet.” Sodalite’s Pearl swallowed her words. “I just have a few questions. First, what do you think we should do with the gems bubbled at the Zoo?”

 

“They... the chrysoprasus, they were simply following orders.”

 

“That’s not what I asked.”

 

“Well, they should be... allowed back.” Sodalite’s pearl said. Domina nodded. “And the aquamarine-”

 

“Already dealt with, I spoke to Topaz regarding her.” Domina interrupted. “What about Sodalite?”

 

“My-my Sodalite-”

 

“No, just Sodalite.” Domina said. “As of four days ago it is now illegal to own pearls in the empire.” Sodalite’s pearl froze. No, no not sodalite’s pearl. Shards who was she now?”

 

“I... I see.” Sodalite’s- no... Sodes? Sodes would have to do for now. Sodes clasped a hand over her gem in thought. Domina allowed her to sit in silence for a few moments before prodding again.

 

“What about Sodalite?” Domina repeated gently.

 

“She... she’s very competent, a... hard but fair commander.”

 

“And so you think she should be released?” Domina asked. Sodes remained silent. Sodalite had always said she would be lost without her. Sodes had done all of this for her sodalite but... look what all that had done.

 

“I... don’t know, Domina.” Sodes said finally. Domina nodded.

 

“In which case, you will stay here.” Domina said. Sodes felt a twinge of pain through her gem, and felt tears forming in her eyes. 

 

“Your Brilliance, I-I’m so sorry I can’t be trusted to-”

 

“No.” Domina said, her voice still even. “I’m sorry, I phrased this wrong.” The diamond sighed and turned to look at Sodes directly. “Despite what you did, and what your actions led to.” She said. “You will be the one to decide her fate, you deserve that. I’ve already spoken to Steven and the Crystal gems. Steven has... a talent for helping gems figure out who they are. I’ll be back regularly, to help heal the corrupted gems. When you make a decision, we’ll talk again, and see what it is you want.” 

 

Sodes wiped her tears away and relaxed. A second chance, she didn’t deserve that, didn’t deserve any of this. “Thank you, Domina.” She said. “I won’t let you down.”

 

****

Domina and Steven stood on the porch. Gems milled around them in the early evening. Domina could still feel the wind on her skin, though it was muted. And she could feel the pizza she and Steven and Connie had split a few hours ago. Dealing with that later would be interesting. She didn’t feel tired, or in pain, just numb. But she was here, and that was what mattered.

 

“So... Pink Diamond was on the Rebellion’s side.” Steven said, not for the first time. He had been in shock after White Pearl’s reveal. Though truth be told, Domina was too.

 

“Seems so.” Domina said. “And it seems that you can bring diamonds back at the very least.”

 

Steven sighed. A very tired sigh that Domina was intimately familiar with.

 

“Steven, don’t worry about it.” Domina said, looking down at him with a soft smile. Somehow without having the weight of an empire on his shoulders Steven still looked as stressed as Domina did.

 

“But if I can fix her then...” He groaned and rubbed his face. “I don’t even know where her shards are, or if all the pieces are there.”

 

“Exactly, take a break.” Domina said, “They’re probably not going anywhere. And... honestly, adding her back into all of this is just going to cause more problems.” Domina felt guilty but stars she wanted a break. And Steven needed one.

 

“...Okay.” Steven said. Then he hugged her, she swore he had gotten taller over the last few weeks , he came up to her chest now, rather than barely up to her waist. “I’m sorry, I should have healed you better.”

 

Domina felt a pain in her chest. Still there, where her heart should be beating. That was a sign she wasn’t fully gem, right?”

 

“Well, you made sure I was here.” Domina said, hugging him back. “And I even got to cut my mother a new facet.”

 

“I still wish I could talk to mine.” Steven said.

 

“I don’t recommend going about it my way.” Domina said, then hesitated. “But I’m sure you’ll figure out how to someday.”

 

“So you’ll be back in a month?” Steven asked. Domina nodded.

 

“9NY said she would have the warp connection fixed by then, it’ll only be keyed to me so none of you have to worry about that.” Domina said. She reached into the pocket of her new jeans and handed Steven a piece of paper. “And that is Connie’s excuse note to the school system, since her homework was destroyed.” Steven opened it and giggled slightly. “I hope it works.”

 

“I’m sure it’ll be perfect.”

 

It took longer to get onboard the Styx this time. Domina found herself pulled into more conversations. Promises to be ready to spar with White, jokes with amethyst, and last minute cryptic predictions from Garnet. The nephrites were staying behind for a while, and Domina didn’t begrudge them that. Mauve was staying behind too, and she had an enigmatic smile when she saw the cliff face the temple was on.  Domina wondered how long it would take someone to find her a chisel.

 

In the end, it was only Jet and a handful of others that left the Earth with them. Jet was quiet and Domina got the impression she didn’t like her much, but that was fine. She had a long time to change her mind. 

 

But the moment The Styx jumped to hyperspeed, Domina turned to Pearl with a question in her eyes. And Pearl hesitantly nodded.

 

Entering the darkness that showed the memories was easier... much easier now. Like blinking, something Domina realized she also forgot to do if she wasn’t thinking about it. Pearl’s memories spread out before her, some simply static’d over, some were crumpled or torn. And others were smudged beyond recognition. Domina took each of them patiently. She let the feels of frustration and loss roll over her as each was tenderly coaxed back into place, to float with the others that made Pearl who she was. As the amount of damaged memories began to recede, Domina reached for an old one, but one still more recent in Pearl’s life.

 

She could feel worry, confusion, and something else. A warmth of love that spread not just throughout this memory of an infant with a diamond protruding from her forehead, but also throughout all the others past this one.

 

Domina pulled herself from Pearl’s memories, and yet again saw Pearl’s eyes clouding over with tears. But these ones weren’t of loss. They were of the same warmth that the memories had been dredged in. Domina hugged Pearl, the cornerstone of her family, and let her mom cry on her shoulder. And let her finally mourn what she had lost and remember what she had gained.

 

***

Yellow Diamond could hear The Styx dock from the opposite end of the building. She glanced up from her conversation with the previous and current district heads and sighed. 

 

“Pearl, Blue, you might as well do your bit.” She said, addressing the two pearls as she turned towards the door. 

 

“Yellow Diamond, Domina did mention that we will be discussing the changes to the legal system when she returned.” Blue Pearl said. Yellow Diamond nodded.

 

“I believe she wants to talk to Blue, er Blue Diamond first though.”

 

“My Dia- er.” Her pearl sighed and Yellow Diamond mentally agreed with her. This was a lot to get used to. Yellow Pearl shook her head. “Moss Agate arrived with a majority of the fleet that was recalled. Any directions for where they should dock?”

 

“I’ll take care of that.” Yellow Diamond said. “Thank you.” She said, before leaving the room. The smile on her pearl’s face was practical blinding, and seeing it felt good. Stars, this was a lot to get used to.

 

She arrived at Blue’s room right as Domina did and the hybrid, er gem, kicked herself into the air with a smile. She was dressed as she had been on Earth, and Yellow Diamond noticed she was wearing a shirt now that said  _ My other car is a spaceship _ which... wasn’t accurate in the least bit.

 

“I can do this by myself, Yellow.” Domina said. Yellow gave her a stern look and Domina sighed. “Fine.” She said, opening the door.

 

Blue was looking out the window over Homeworld and glanced at them, more specifically Domina, when they walked in.

 

“If you’re just going to put me in a bubble you didn’t need to drag this out.” Blue said, her voice  resigned. Domina shook her head.

 

“We’re not putting you in a bubble.” Domina said, she floated down to sit on the arm of the chair. She gestured for Blue to sit. Blue did, after a wary look in Yellow’s direction. Yellow had to admit, she had no idea was Domina was planning on doing.

 

Domina’s gem flashed with a white that filled the room and Yellow suddenly felt her gem go cold with fear. Blue grabbed her hand desperately and clung to it hard enough it hurt. Then, the light faded, Blue’s hand loosened and she felt a wave of grief, come from Blue. This was softer, probably not intentional. Yellow wiped away a tear and saw Domina do similar.

 

“I’m sorry.” Domina said. “I should have asked, but I thought you deserved to know what happened.”

 

“I... thank you, Domina.” Blue said as the aura began to fade. Domina nodded stood.

 

“So, let’s get everything else out of the way.” She said. “Pink Diamond was working with the Rebellion.” Blue looked at Yellow for confirmation and Yellow nodded. That had been an interesting conversation, one that made her want to figure out a way to travel back in time and shake Pink at the very least. But the headache that came from time travel wasn’t worth it.

 

“So... oh stars, why didn’t she talk to us?” Blue said mournfully. There was another wave of grief and Yellow sighed internally.

 

“Blue Diamond, stop, please.” Domina said firmly. “I understand you’re upset but we can’t fix it now.” To Yellow’s surprise, the aura subsided. “Thank you.” Domina said relieved.

 

“So Domina, what are you planning on doing with me then?” Blue said bitterly. Domina looked at Yellow then back at Blue.

 

“Well, first of all, we’re changing our focus. There’s supposed to be a specialist coming from Earth to overhaul our kindergarten set up.” 

 

“A specialist from Earth?” Blue asked.

 

“Peridot 5XG” Yellow Diamond said. Blue blinked in confusion.

 

“Isn’t that the peridot who-” 

 

“Yes.”

 

“But that does mean that Yellow’s focus will be on that.” Domina interjected. “I’m expecting you to resume your duties in diplomacy and culture.”

 

“After all this?” Blue asked, almost amused.

 

“After all this.” Domina said. “But from now one, none of us will have a dedicated military force.” It was Yellow’s turn to be surprised.

 

“What?”

 

“We’re turning control over it over to Blue Pearl, Feldspar and the rest of the New Rebellion.” Domina continued.

 

“Domina, that’s insane!” Blue Diamond protested.

 

“Maybe.” Domina said, “But it does require us to trust each other. And we’re going to have to.”

 

Blue Diamond sighed. “This is ridiculous, it’s bad enough you’ve freed the pearls but-”

 

“Blue Diamond, this is what we have to do.” Domina said firmly. For once, when Domina spoke up, Yellow didn’t hear White. She heard Domina, but more confident, with maybe a hint... just a tiny hint, of Steven. “We have to all get along. We are going to work this out.” Domina said.

 

“And it’s going to be great.”

 

***

In the chaotic days that had followed White and Yellow Diamonds’ retaking of Homeworld, there had been many empire wide messages. The freeing of pearls and decriminalization of off colors were the most surprising. But possibly the most memorable was one that took place a little more than a week after the Diamond Flagship had come tumbling to the ground.

 

“Hello, everyone,” The voice said, the owner of the voice was easily identifiable by most of White Diamond’s court. The rest assumed she was some lost goshenite before the message continued.

 

“I am White Diamond,” She said, as if reassuring herself. “I understand that I’m not quite what you would expect but it is true.” The gem tapped the space next to the diamond in her forehead with a grin. “I have the gem to prove it and everything.” She continued. “I am here to announce the beginning of a new era. We as a people have been through a lot over the last year. Really over the last five thousand years. And as of right now it’s time that we make a change.

 

“Exams will be opening up for various positions that we are in need of. Anyone who believes they are capable of performing a job is encouraged to apply.” White Diamond gave the audience a conspiratorial smile. “Especially if they were not created for it.”

 

“In other news, laws are being rewritten. All are invited to join us in discussion of them. My fellow diamonds, the leaders of the New Rebellion, and I would be more than happy to listen to any suggestions you have.”

 

“I understand that... a lot of you are probably confused, and that's alright. I myself am confused and worried about what comes next. But I am confident that it will be ok.” White Diamond squared her shoulders and nodded to the audience. “I welcome the empire to Era Three and I hope that all of you will join me in righting the wrongs of our past, and building something greater than ever before.”


	80. LXXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this fic about a year ago tomorrow. er rather I started Domina Alba. and I've said many times before that I wasn't expecting it to get this big but now I have to say that I wasn't expecting it to ever be done. This is the epilogue of course, no real new surprises. I do have plans for a sequel but I don't know when exactly (hint you might want to subscribe to the series if you haven't already) but for now, I'm done, I'm starting a new job (for reference I started my first job shortly before starting this fic.) I should be buying a house soon and I've got some one shots that need written.
> 
> Thanks to squish for betaing and putting up with my slightly unreliable betaing time.
> 
> Thanks to all of you who have watched this story progress and grow. To those who comment and those who read and those who recommend. I couldn't have done this without you.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this short epilogue. 
> 
> I'll see you around.

# 

Change never comes quickly, not for humans or for gems. It is not one event that radically changes everything, but rather little ones that slowly build to a climax.

 

It began with Domina in front of Yellow Diamond, trying to ease the law against heterogenous fusion. And it took the better part of a year to remove that law. But it took years after that to see fusions walking down the street without derision.

 

The pearls were freed and the off colours brought out of hiding, but the New Rebellion fought tirelessly to see them integrated into the rest of gem society. Blue and Yellow Pearl used every skill, every favor they had ever acquired to ensure that pearls were seen as more than just a pretty face. They worked side by side, as they always had, but closer now with no secrets between them.

 

Domina did her best to help. She put Moss Agate in full control of the fleet and raised 9ZQ to be the first un-banded agate. And the fact that Yellow Diamond’s new Director of Engineering and Development was a green pearl with a short temper only helped their cause.

 

With the new technology being put together for the fleet, Yellow Diamond and Domina both encouraged a vast amount of gems to try jobs that would normally be considered ‘unsuitable’ for them. They weren’t all successes of course, but the benefits far overshadowed the disasters.

 

Blue Diamond’s court was not so welcoming to gems moving outside their assigned rank, something that matched the way that Blue Diamond herself was not as welcome amongst the other diamonds. There was much prodding by Domina until Blue Zircon was finally allowed on the legal committee among the hafnons. Other than that, the Diamond was watched closely by a black pearl who was already used to being a thorn in her side

 

On Earth, the Crystal Gems carried on much the same way as before, only this time without the threat of Homeworld’s return hanging over them. There were still corrupted gems to be captured though, it was a getting a lot easier as their numbers grew from Steven and Domina’s efforts. Soon gems, uncorrupted gems who had fought for the chance to live on Earth in peace, became a common sight in Delmarva and in various parts of the Earth. As common a sight as the pink flowers from the moss, studded with shards of pink glass.

 

Sodalite’s pearl didn’t return to Homeworld, and Sodalite herself remained bubbled in the human zoo as the project was phased out. Sodes, as she now referred to herself as, ended up traveling the Earth for a long time, checking in with Steven periodically, making connections with other gems, and with humans that reminded herself that she was capable of great things, and that there was no more reason for her to be afraid.

 

With changes such as this, you would almost expect a happily ever after, but sometimes you don’t get the best possible ending. That’s not always what's important though. Sometimes you just need something better, something to build off of. And definitely not an ending. After all, why have an ending when all the work is just beginning?

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you want random musings about my writing of this fic/series then come find me on [ Tumblr ](https://domina-alba.tumblr.com/) also Vulgaris Adamas has a [Tv Tropes ](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/VulgarisAdamas) page now.  
> And I've joined the craze so now we have a [Discord ](https://discord.gg/Qz6cmCs%20)
> 
> Did you just click the kudos button and it gave you that stupid smiley face? If it did then feel free to just post 'kudos' in the Comments section! I'll get what you mean, and really appreciate it!


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